During the opening sequence of Raging Midlife, Eddie Griffin’s voiceover tells the audience that they “may think this is a wrestling story, but you’re wrong.” But that’s also wrong. Raging Midlife may be a romantic comedy and an absurdist fiesta with moments of surprising violence, but it is certainly a wrestling story. It encompasses all the craziness and moral ambiguity of a televised professional wrestling production better than any documentary has.
Childhood friends Alex (Nic Costa) and Mark (Matt Zak) have spent their lives looking for a tank top worn in the ring by their favorite wrestler, Raging Abe Lincoln (Motch O Mann, which I hope to the gods is a pseudonym). As kids, they were sitting ringside at WrestleMadness III and Lincoln tossed Mark the shirt before the match began. But Alex’s wicked little sister, Mindy (Emily Sweet), stole the shirt and hurled it into the crowd. When the tank top shows up on an auction site, Mark and Alex are outbid. Propelled by an obsessive sense of entitlement, the two go on a quest to retrieve the shirt one way or another.
That’s a high-level synopsis of the story, and admittedly it doesn’t do Raging Midlife justice. There’s more to it than that. A lot more. Raging Midlife takes wild risks, throwing in bizarre plot lines and twists one doesn’t see coming. It’s a lot like watching wrestling.
One can view Alex as the face (good guy) of the movie. While he feels like he deserves the shirt because it once belonged to him, he’s not sure if he’s on the righteous path. Mark is the tweener (might be good, might be bad). He wants to share the shirt with Alex and will do whatever it takes to grab it. Mindy is the heel (bad guy), a sneering over-the-top super villain who wears outrageous clothing and owns a harpoon gun. She wants the shirt because Alex wants it and she’s interested in ruining his life. Think of the shirt as a championship title belt, and you understand why all three are in such hot pursuit.
It may not make much logical sense, but you understand it.
Along the way, Alex falls in love with Tyler Roberts (Darielle Mason), who happens to be Raging Abe’s daughter. Tyler has the shirt, and Alex wants that gear as much as he wants Tyler. She also owns an emotional support pig named AbraHAM Lincoln.
While one could not be blamed for having doubts about a wrestling movie featuring pop star and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul, consider grabbing your preconceived notions and tucking them back in. Raging Midlife is a bouncy rubber ball fired from a gun into a tiled room. Unpredictable, there is no corner it does not hit. From a hilarious bit at an independent wrestling show to ghosts for some reason, Raging Midlife hits the mat running and doesn’t stop until the ending credits.
Some of the wrestling parody is too on the nose. The pair of Raging Abe Lincoln and his manager Mary Todd (played with heartfelt gravitas by Abdul) are obviously based on Macho Man Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Original characters instead of impersonations would have been appreciated, but Savage and Miss Elizabeth broke out into the mainstream and are still recognizable figures. It’s possible that those characters were needed to bring in viewers who aren’t hardcore wrestling fans.
You don’t have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy Raging Midlife. Besides the wrestling content, there’s a nice romance. There’s the relatable feeling of wanting something that seems consistently out of reach. Oh, there’s also Walter Koenig (Star Trek) as the elderly co-owner of an adult store. Much like wrestling, Raging Midlife has something for everyone if you give it the chance.
Nic Costa’s script is too smart to be wacky, too bizarre for a streamlined description. Raging Midlife is a fun examination of obsession, collecting, and becoming the thing you despise. Beyond that, Raging Midlife encompasses not only the infectious joy of wrestling, but how it feels to be a fan of, well, anything. There’s some madness to any fandom and Raging Midlife splashes that weirdness onto the screen. Even in its blackest moments, Raging Midlife has a desire to entertain, not alienate. It reaches for laughs and shocks, and succeeds in both. To its credit, Raging Midlife is also super weird without being mean-spirited. Take the dive, embrace the strange and roll with it. All told, Raging Midlife is good shit, pal.
Raging Midlife hits theaters and digital platforms on March 14, 2025, from Level 33 Entertainment.
