Mickey Rourke Obsession: I’m Out Of My League

Here is an email from Michael:

here’s one of many stories/anecdotes/observations of Mickey:

when i moved to LA for the first time, back in my early twenties, i was renting a piece a shit car from a place called Rent-A-Wreck and i desperately wanted to just BUY my own piece of shit. a friend of a friend of a that kind of thing led me to a purple 50’s stunt car from a low-budget movie that the production company was selling for far more than it was worth. but when the woman selling it told me that it was the car Mickey Rourke drove in the movie they just wrapped, i told her i’d buy it, sight unseen. to her credit, she basically told me it was lemon, don’t bother, but i said i’d like to take it for a spin. which i did, all by myself, cruising West Hollywood with my mirrored cop glasses on, saying to myself, “i’m sitting in the same place Mickey Rourke sat in, touching the wheel that Mickey touched,” soaking in his vibe. later i saw the movie (on video, of course. it was in the mid 90’s, his dark days) and it was called FALL TIME. avoid it. it sucks. and Mickey was in his lazy, whispering, touching his lower lip with every line and always wearing sunglasses phase. he needed the paycheck.

have you seen FRANCESCO? Mickey Rourke plays St. Francis of Assisi. yes. you read that right. i don’t remember it much but i know Helena Bonham Carter was in it and at one point you can see Mickey’s biker tattoo (in the 1200’s!).

Ah yes. The ‘touching his lower lip on every line’ phase. I know it well.

But that’s why I love Michael. Because we have that same level of obsessiveness that leads us to things like driving purple stunt cars around wearing cop sunglasses. Or, say, flying to Taos and crashing Dean Stockwell’s party. Either one.