Directed By Peter Farrelly

Starring – Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J Byrne

The Plot – A true story of an unknown actor who believed he wasn’t meant to just write Rocky, but to play Rocky Balboa. Facing constant rejection, Sylvester Stallone (Ippolito) risks everything, refusing to give up the lead role against impossible odds.

Rated PG-13 for strong adult language, brief sexual material, and smoking.

I Play Rocky | Official Trailer

POSITIVES

For over fifty years, ‘Rocky’ has remained a source of cinematic inspiration for those who indulge effortlessly in a good underdog story, and while the franchise since has been overwhelmed by inferior sequels that lack the conductive spark and resilient grit of that original installment, this film about the story behind the story renders the remarkability of its improbable odds of making such a worldwide splash, capping off with a Best Picture win at the 1977 Oscars that made a megastar out of its Italian stallion beyond the lens. Creatively, this is a film that takes ample opportunity of its two hour runtime, not only in dissecting the depicted production woes behind the scenes that created some uphill challenges to an already minimalized shoestring budget, but also thorough insight about the creative thinktank behind closed doors that flourished the triumph of many from the beliefs of a few, offering a stark but compelling commentary on the shape of Hollywood, and more importantly how ‘Rocky’ helped shape such a new way of perspective thinking among the intrusive suits. While one would assume that these executives are the same brainless idiots who serve as nothing more than a wet blanket on the hopes and ambitions on Sly’s many sacrifices, however screenwriter Peter Gamble takes some refreshing deviations on the audience’s preconceived expectations of these characters that allows them to shift away from the unnecessary antagonists that smother these stories so conventionally, instead utilizing ample time during the second act to flesh out the humanity within the room between some rhythmically indulging conversations that served up some of my favorite scenes of the entire film, responsibly illustrating that Sylvester’s stardom wouldn’t of taken flight without their financial and confidence backing sending him directly into orbit. Speaking of direction amid meaningful guidance, Peter Farrelly’s history helming comedies is a major asset to the film’s feel-good appeal with a paying audience, with so many of the depicted moments of this unlikely story emanating the very same sense of natural charm pulled directly from fish-out-of-water vulnerability, helping to keep the atmospheric air indulgingly approachable with pallet-cleansing levity, despite material during the opening act pertaining to poverty and opportunistic misfortunes. What’s commendable about Farrelly’s grip on the engagement isn’t just his keen sense of maturity that keeps this film from feeling like a downright comedy, but also a lack of flashiness with the presentation that could distracted and detracted away from some of the film’s grander ingredients, and though Farrelly is essentially just recreating the work of someone else, there’s still intimacy and honesty captured in the ways he continuously zeroes in on the adversity and resiliency of these conflicted people, surmising a lot more accessible relatability than I was expecting to such a larger-than-life presence. When the production does opt to show its hand, it pulls meticulous eye-fetching detail at the seamless recreations of these memorable moments and set designs from the original film, where everyone involved behind the scenes of this production spend ample time and energy appraising a timelessness to the integrity of the visuals that help this from feeling like a TV movie-of-the-week. While the quality in detailed accuracy simply cannot be denied from manufacturing outdated costume designs, set decoration, and hair and make-up concepts that feels directly plucked from the 70’s, the more impressive feats for my personal tastes are the precise movements of the lens from cinematographer Sean Porter, that certainly readies the very steady cam handheld photographic schemes initially initiated from its cheaply processed predecessor, but more importantly these pulled-out frames that convey much of what was transpiring behind the scenes of each iconic moment, allowing Porter free range to cinematically homage with artistic expression, all the while providing his own individual appeal in adding layers to a film that was made before he was even born. But as great as everything previously mentioned is, it’s the performances that take center stage in this recreative biopic, particularly the awe-inspiring introduction of Anthony Ippolito, who envelopes the very identity of Sylvester Stallone in every measurable facet of the remarkable portrayal. Everything from the familiarized tone of Stallone’s thick Italian accent, to the mannerisms and ticks of his dry demeanor, to even the sensitivity of his speech patterns appraises this disarming authenticity that certainly keeps it from feeling like just another cartoonish impression for the biopic pile, and while I initially began the film with the mental understanding that I was watching an actor portray another actor, something happens around the twenty minute mark where I started to believe that it legitimately was Stallone performing before my very eyes, surmising what is undeniably the single greatest compliment to an actor attempting to undertake someone so distinguishably documented in the public eye. Aside from Ippolito’s dominance over the spectrum, AnnaSophia Robb provides a strong and supportive presence to her candid chemistry with Ippolito that makes her a steadfast believer in Stallone’s creative vision, with a stoically impactful registration over the proceedings, and the tenacious trio of P.J Byrne, Toby Kebbell, and Tracy Letts as MGM Studios executives bring unexpected drive and dimensionality to their respective portrayals, making it a lot easier to see the humanity from within the powerful hierarchy, rather than just more soulless suits surmised to shill aggressive difficulties to Sly’s determinative detriment.

NEGATIVES

While ‘I Play Rocky’ is undeniably a worthy addition to the generational franchise, at the end of the day it’s still a biopic, so it plays by the very same formulaic impulses that have detracted on some of the most recent films involving pop superstars. For starters, the script is very much of the Wikipedia page variety, in that it assembles every meaningful scene under the scene to continuously play towards Sly’s creativity, rather than revel in some quieter introspective moments away from the production, in order to clue us into some semblance of insight into Sylvester the person rather than Rocky the character, an aspect made troubling by a telegraphed three act structure that eventually becomes entirely about the movie rather than even occasionally about the person. I can wholeheartedly understand that paying audiences will come to relive these nostalgic nourishments from their youth, however I found the film and its script most appealing whenever it deviated away from the expectations of its formula, such as those moments inside of the studio with the aforementioned executives, and considering that this is a film about the person behind the pen, it leaves its proposed three-dimensional character study falling unceremoniously flat in its overarching narrative, leaving Ippolito’s performance hemmed by the inability to tap into Sylvester at his most compellingly vulnerable, such as an abusively distant father (Played by Matt Dillon), who is introduced into the fray during the opening act, and then never articulated further. Aside from the conventions of the screenplay, the ending is enacted quite abruptly during the film’s closing moments, where instead of reveling in the tastes of Sly’s triumphs among the cinematic masses, it instead opts for on-screen text that conveys these matters off-screen, leaving the emotional undercurrent feeling undercut by the movie’s need to not push past the exactly two hour runtime. Because the film relies heavily on the previously attained knowledge of the audience, it opts clumsily not to dabble in the successes on the other side of Rocky’s big screen showcase, where the triumph itself comes from that of the screening, instead of what ultimately comes from it, and while I can certainly commend the movie for trying something different to deviate away from expectations, it leaves the pay-off feeling a bit underwhelming during its most defining moment, where we never really get to experience the devouring of crows for those who at least initially didn’t believe in Sylvester’s vision. Finally, while Ippolito’s recreated performance of Stallone is nothing short of mesmerizing, the supporting work from some of those faces within Rocky’s production leave a lot to be desired in their attempting to evade distracting impression, particularly those of Stephen James’ Carl Weathers, and Kiki Seto’s Talia Shire, who each feel like grafted from someone who has only seen each of them act on-screen. Being that James was a revelation for me in 2018’s ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, it’s devastatingly disappointing that the movie doesn’t utilize his talents towards bringing out anything other than the hypnotizing charisma of Weathers’ appeal, instead utilizing him to assemble two throwaway jokes that can be found in the movie’s trailers, and though this is only my second experience with Seto on a grand stage (After TV’s The Studio), she pulls this abrasively annoying vocal registry from her diaphragm that grated on my nerves whenever the script deviated back towards her, serving as the singularized version of the movie that I was fearing during marketed trailers that did little to sell its appeal.

OVERALL
‘I Play Rocky’ earnestly enacts the underdog spirit and nostalgic nourishment of its Oscar-winning original movie with an impressively detailed production that seamlessly recreates its visual tapestries, but also a knockout performance from Anthony Ippolito going the distance with his scarily surreal portrayal of Sylvester Stallone. While the script unfortunately follows the formulaic path of many biopics before it, there’s enough heart and crowd-pleasing charms to overlook its situational limitations in the later rounds, providing an inspirationally rousing and resilient story about following your dreams, regardless of the costs or sacrifices along the way.

My Grade: 7.7 or B