Barry W. Blaustein is a former head writer for Saturday Night Live and has worked extensively with Eddie Murphy. For his directorial debut, Blaustein opted for a documentary about the personal lives of the professional wrestlers who he’s watched since he was a boy.

The result is an intensely intimate film that ponders the question “What kind of person would do this for a living?”

Blaustein follows several wrestlers who are currently or previously associated with the WWF and WCW and also spends time with wrestlers on independent circuits. The majority of the film is spent with Terry Funk, Mick Foley and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. The three are very different in terms of their backgrounds, but each wrestles with their own wrestling demons.

Funk is over 50 years old and has been wrestling for his entire adult life. His body has been almost completely worn out, and his family clearly wants him to retire.

Family is the key element in Foley’s saga as well. Foley is legendary for taking extreme amounts of physical punishment in the ring and feels he needs to do so every night to please the fans. The problem is that Foley has a wife and young children, who are beginning to question why daddy gets beaten up every night.

By far, the most heart-wrenching tale of the movie is that of Roberts. At one time, he was one of the top superstars in the WWF. When “Beyond the Mat” was filmed, Roberts was touring small Midwestern towns with a very small wrestling promoter.

Roberts has had serious bouts with cocaine addiction, and his family life is so screwed up that it would be unbelievable if it were not true. The most touching scenes of the movie take place when Roberts pays a visit to his daughter, who he has not seen in four years.

“Beyond the Mat” is in no way a movie just for wrestling fans. The beauty of the movie is that the wrestling is secondary to the lives of the people.

We have a habit of dismissing people like wrestlers as being unable to comprehend their own situations. That is not the case. Foley realizes what he does is crazy, but he sadly accepts that there is little else he is capable of doing. When he comes to the realization that it is terrifying his children, he is deeply ashamed.

Blaustein’s narration ties the film together nicely. A wrestler’s story is not told at one time, but in pieces throughout the film. Blaustein spent two years with wrestlers, and presenting the film in this way gives the feeling of the passing of time.

“Beyond the Mat” is informative, a bit provocative and ultimately poignant. Anyone who enjoys “Beyond the Mat” would probably also enjoy the exceptional documentary “Brett Hart: Wrestling with Shadows.”

4 Stars

Rating based on a 5 Star scale.

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Ben Godar is a senior in sociology from Ames. He is an assistant arts & entertainment editor for the daily.