Why Mickey Rourke is the best actor (Michael Seresin's Homeboy)

Nevermind the fact that he’s great in movies he’s critically acclaimed for (“Barfly”, “The Wrestler”), Mickey’s best performance is in his absolute worst movie. “Homeboy”, is the flip-side to the Rocky Balboa legacy, of which Mickey Rourke was suggested to play the role, but the studio ultimately casted Sly, announcing Rourke was “too pretty” for the part. (he sure showed them!) Johnny Walker (Rourke) is everything Rocky is not. He’s a drunk, out of shape, dumb-fuck boxer, making a living losing fights. Occasionally he wins, but you don’t root for him the way you root for Stallone and there are no dramatic over-stylized boxing scenes. He’s a drunken buffoon who is taken in by Wesley Pendergrass (Christopher Walken), a local mob boss, who discovers Johnny’s medical condition is worse than Johnny knows. From a fractured head injury, he has only one or two more fights in him. Wesley hides this information from Johnny to get him to participate in, what becomes a botched up robbery in Jewish town (as the movie refers to Brooklyn). He must make a choice, whether to fight his last fight, or go in on the heist. The story is more about their heroin abusing, older brother to younger brother relationship, than it is about the boxing. Apparently, Mickey missed a few Method-acting classes (he did attend the Lee Strasberg school of method), ‘cause he took to the role WAY too seriously, dropping out of the hollywood elite actors guild, to become a professional boxer throughout the 90’s, only to retire undefeated after a hand full of fights with partial brain damage. The character of Johnny Walker is so uneducated and emotionally devoid of emotion, that you feel like you’re watching Raging Bull, if Jake La Motta was played by Forest Gump.

The reason why this film is watchable, is the Mick’s acting. It reflects his anger at the time, his personal life, being on the edge of a losing career, and the way he isolated himself from society. I recommend this film to anyone interested in the craft of method acting. Is it art, is it not? I wonder how much of Eric Clapton’s cocaine Mickey blew, before writing the script. (Yes, Rourke wrote the screenplay as well. He credits himself as “sir” Eddie Cook. And Eric Clapton did do the soundtrack. Rourke and Clapton? What could go wrong there?)