'I Play Rocky' Plays Familiar But Effective Hits
Sylvester Stallone may not be a good person. Look no further than his relationship with Trump. He’s probably not the kind-hearted character that’s Rocky Balboa. With that in mind, whether you like Sylvester Stallone or not, I Play Rocky is one of those few uplifting stories that actually achieves its goal. Admittedly, knowledge of the Rocky films plays a big part in helping the audience feel the story. The movie is conventional but effective. Like the Oscar film it depicts, the picture captures the kind of good spirit we need more of during these dystopian times. There’s hope if we try to achieve our goal. As the picture says, “It’s better to be an optimist and be wrong than it is to be a pessimist and be right.”
Peter Farrelly isn’t the most complicated filmmaker. Probably because he’s the director of Dumb and Dumber. Farrelly’s Oscar win for Green Book was one of the most questionable in the Academy’s history. I Play Rocky is the kind of material he should pursue if he wants to switch from comedy to drama. Racism is the type of thing that should be left to filmmakers who would know a little more about it. This movie is about a simple person who isn’t as stupid as he seems and becomes a movie star. Sorry, spoiler. If you don’t know who Sylvester Stallone is.
If you haven’t done an IMDb or Wikipedia search on one of the most-rerun movies on television, you’ll probably get hit hard by the movie’s emotional strings. Stallone literally went from being homeless to rich. His dog, Butkus, reminds us why dogs are the most loyal species on earth. Butkus's fate is heartbreaking and rewarding. Stallone doesn’t take no for an answer in this movie. No matter how much money he's offered, Stallone won’t make Rocky unless it stars him. In real life, the studio heavily considered Robert Redford to play Rocky, but Stallone said no. Why that detail wasn’t added is a slight misfire.
I Play Rocky is rewarding but also slightly frustrating. However, the movie’s length is perfect for the narrative. It can also feel rushed. For example, Stallone breaks the rules after an initial meeting with studio heads, dropping his script into a pile of other scripts, but the receptionist picks it up and loves it. That’s unlikely to happen in reality. More likely, the receptionist would toss it in the garbage. Another issue is that the movie comes across as hero worship.
Sylvester Stallone comes across as Rocky, the character he wrote, to the point where he’s too much of a teddy bear. Stallone grew up with speaking problems due to a birth defect where one part of his mouth is crooked. But if you’ve seen interviews with Sylvester Stallone, he doesn’t sound like Rocky Balboa. He’s more articulate. Just look up any old interview. In this movie, Stallone proves he has a vocabulary on the page, but not in person. Peter Farrelly doesn’t have to make Stallone look like a jerk, but he also doesn’t need to make him look like a saint. Something a little more complex, just a little more, could have gone a long way. Otherwise, the movie wins in its attention to detail.
Just like how Sylvester Stallone wasn’t a star until Rocky rocked the world, Anthony Ippolito might become famous because of this film. Ippolito is eerily similar to Sylvester Stallone. In one particular scene, the movie recreates a moment from the film where you can barely tell the difference between Stallone and Ippolito. His Rocky voice is on point, but he’s also emoting. Not just doing an impression. Plus, he’s in incredible shape. He was lanky when he played a young Al Pacino in The Offer; now Ippolito has bulked up. It’s almost a sure bet that Anthony Ippolito will be up for an Oscar as the movie weighs almost entirely on his performance.
The shots that Peter Farrelly recaptured from the making of Rocky are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. It’s a far cry from Mahershala Ali’s floating CGI head in Green Book. The cast and the making of the film are a blast to watch thanks to its fun, verbose characters. The contrast between P.J. Byrne’s sweet Irwin Winkler and Tracy Letts’ condescending Sandy Maddox is a good bit of comedy that shows how important it is to have a producer who has your back. It captures a time when filmmakers had to be on time, not overdoing things with a million takes. It turns out, you can make a movie with one take per setup and still make a classic. Too many filmmakers forget that it’s not just the camera work, but the script that makes a picture soar. Furthermore, it was a time when studios put faith in writers’ visions. Not popular IP.
I Play Rocky works because its script is genuine. Rocky touched the hearts of many people who saw it. The world needed Star Wars and Rocky to give them some hope after being ravaged by the Vietnam War and civil unrest. Peter Farrelly captures the spirit of Rocky so well that the characters say “frigging” like they would in the Rocky films. It’s a small but intentional choice that captures the movie’s spirit. Not everyone becomes lucky like Sylvester Stallone did. Most people in Hollywood wind up pushing lights instead of making movies anyone will see until the day they give up or die. But at least they do what they love. A movie about a doctor who saved lives, or a kind person who touched the lives around them even if they weren't economically successful, would be a good avenue to explore for inspirational true stories. Unfortunately, society is obsessed with fame as a reward over helping others. Still, this movie is uplifting, and we could use a little bit of that in these dark times.
