Movies about pro-wrestling seldom star actual pro wrestlers. Instead we get Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler") or Ryuta Sato ("Gachi Boy: Wrestling with a Memory"). But the ascent to Hollywood stardom of Dwayne Johnson, who wrestled professionally as "The Rock," has inspired New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Japan's biggest pro-wrestling organization, to do something similar for NJPW star Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Their vehicle of choice, Kyohei Fujimura's "My Dad is a Heel Wrestler," is an earnestly inspirational movie for kids. It's based on two picture books by writer Masahiro Itabashi and illustrator Hisanori Yoshida, but adult fans can enjoy the scenes of hardcore wrestling action performed by pros, minus the stunt work and editing tricks used to disguise the inadequacies of nonwrestler actors.
I've actually seen Tanahashi and his fellow NJPW wrestlers live and can testify that, though the results may be predetermined, the athleticism and risks are real. To quote ex-wrestler Diamond Dallas Page: "You can't fake gravity."
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