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TV WATCH

When A&E tackles wrestling, resulting show lively, literate

DANNY HEITMAN

12/17/1998

The Baton Rouge Advocate

8-D

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.' They

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.

PHOTO; Caption: Photo of Bret "The Hitman" Hart, with his father

Stu, and his brother, Owen (Photo provided by A&E)