When A&E tackles wrestling, resulting show lively,
literate
DANNY HEITMAN
12/17/1998
The Baton Rouge Advocate
(Copyright 1998 by Capital City Press)
The election of Jesse Ventura as governor of Minnesota has done
much to focus attention on the world of professional wrestling.
The
A&E network takes viewers behind the scenes of that industry
on
Sunday night at 8 with a new documentary called "Hitman Hart:
wrestling with shadows."
It's perhaps a measure of wrestling's heightened profile
that a film
about wrestling has come to A&E, a network better known for
highbrow adaptations of Jane Austen. As you might expect given
A&E's reputation, "Hitman" isn't a promotional gimmick
in the vein of
most cable shows about wrestling; instead, we get a lively and
literate exploration of the subject that even non-wrestling fans
may
find intriguing.
Writer-director Paul Jay's documentary is about many
things, but its
prevailing theme is one man's search for respect. The title figure,
Bret "The Hitman" Hart, is a three-time World Wrestling
Federation
champion who often wonders aloud why people don't acknowledge
his
accomplishment.
Hart, who's reserved, soft-spoken and articulate outside
of the ring,
concedes that his matches are staged, with carefully scripted
moves and
predetermined outcomes. Viewers get a first-hand glimpse of that
planning as
Hart and his opponents choreograph their competition from start
to finish.
It's a demanding production that wrestling critics usually don't
appreciate,
Hart laments.
"It takes a lot of skill and talent to make it look real,"
Hart says.
"People never come up to you and say, 'You're a
great actor.' The say, 'You're just a phony.' "
Sunday's program doesn't try to determine why so many
people
consider professional wrestling a joke, and the viewer is left
to draw
his own conclusions. One likely reason is that wrestling has all
the
vices of theater and sport with none of their virtues. It's too
hokey to
qualify as decent drama, yet too rehearsed to rank as a serious
athletic event.
That reality tends to get muted in "Hitman,"
a largely sympathetic
portrait of Hart that accepts his opinions at face value. Sunday's
story hinges on Hart's creative differences with World Wrestling
Federation owner Vince McMa-hon, who wants Hart to change his
heroic "Hitman" character into a villain. Though Hart
calls himself an
actor, and actors seldom have complete control over the direction
of their
characters, Sunday's program depicts McMahon's decision as a rare
and tragic
event.
And while Sunday's documentary suggests a no-holds-barred
expose of
wrestling's illusions, Jay's film traffics in some illusions of
its own. He
mixes conventional footage with dramatic recreations, a strategy
that blurs
the line between fact and fiction.
The ambiguity of what we're watching in Sunday's show
perhaps
underscores why wrestling has become such a pop culture
phenomenon. This make-believe contest of gladiators - what Kabuki
might look like if performed by Elvis - seems a perfect emblem
of the age.
In a world where infomercials come disguised as news
programs,
Jerry Springer masquerades as a journalist and televised shouting
matches pass for public affairs shows, a wrestling tournament
that's
more fake than fact apparently makes perfect sense.
As "Hitman" concludes, Hart has left the WWF
in a huff and signed
with a rival organization. Who knows what's next? Maybe he'll
run
for governor.
