‘I Play Rocky’: A Middleweight Romp Through Hollywood History

⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 Stars)

I've never really liked the original film 'Rocky'. There, I've said it, sorry. Thankfully there's not much of that film here and that's a good thing. What we have in 'I Play Rocky' is a classic underdog story. For those of us who have always found the 1976 boxing monolith a little too saccharine—a movie too eager to wallow in its own sweat-soaked, fist-pumping melodrama—Peter Farrelly’s latest directorial effort offers a surprisingly refreshing alternative. 'I Play Rocky' isn't a movie about boxing; it’s a movie about the brutal, absurd, and occasionally magical machinery of the Hollywood studio system. It trades the bruised knuckles of the boxing ring for the bruised egos of executive offices, and in doing so, crafts a tribute to creative stubbornness that manages to be considerably more engaging than the source material it chronicles.

The plot zeroes in on a wildly desperate chapter of cinematic history. It is 1975, and a young actor named Sylvester Stallone is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Destitute, homeless and having just made the heartbreaking decision to sell his beloved dog, Butkus, just to afford groceries, Stallone manages to bash out a screenplay about a down-on-his-luck Philadelphia club fighter. When the script lands on the desks of major Hollywood executives, they instantly recognize it as a potential goldmine. The studio, United Artists, eagerly wants to buy the rights. They float a roster of major A-list stars for the lead role and offer Stallone what would equate to millions of dollars in today’s money. It is a life-changing, lottery-ticket offer for a man who literally cannot afford his rent.

But Stallone issues a stubborn, seemingly suicidal ultimatum: I play Rocky. He refuses to sell his script unless he is allowed to star as the title character. The film tracks him through the agonizing pushback from apoplectic executives, the grueling multi-city shoot, and his desperate battle to preserve his vision while working under a director who demands punishing single-take perfection.

At the centre of this whirlwind is rising star Anthony Ippolito, stepping into the dauntingly recognizable shoes of the Italian Stallion. It is a precarious high-wire act, playing a man who has spent the last fifty years as a walking pop-culture caricature, but Ippolito pulls it off with a surprising amount of grace and physical commitment. More importantly, he absolutely nails Sylvester Stallone’s annoying drawl, capturing exactly what the legendary British film critic Barry Norman famously referred to as the words “lethargically dripping from his chin.” Ippolito embodies the sheer audacity of a man who has absolutely nothing to lose. We see his quiet desperation, his fragile ego, and the profound, deeply ingrained chip on his shoulder that drove him to risk his entire financial future on a single, monumental roll of the dice.

However, what elevates 'I Play Rocky' from a mere vanity project to an engaging piece of entertainment is the stellar ensemble cast that surrounds him. Farrelly has assembled a murderers' row of top-tier character actors who chew on the period-appropriate dialogue with obvious delight. Tracy Letts is predictably spectacular as Sandy Maddox, a fiery composite character representing the collective rage of the United Artists executives.

P.J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell bring a panicked, chaotic energy to their roles as producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, constantly caught between the impossible demands of the studio and the immovable object that is Stallone.

Elsewhere, Matt Dillon provides a prickly, difficult edge as Stallone’s father, Frank Sr., offering a glimpse into the complicated family dynamics that fueled the actor's ambition. Stephan James brings an electric, magnetic charisma to his portrayal of co-star Carl Weathers, while AnnaSophia Robb provides a vital, grounding emotional presence as Sasha Czack, Stallone’s long-suffering first wife who stood by his side when the odds were insurmountable.

Farrelly, leaning into the same broad, crowd-pleasing instincts that won him Academy Awards for Green Book, keeps the pace relatively snappy. He shoots the film with a momentum that occasionally skirts the edge of historical hagiography. There are certainly moments where Peter Gamble’s script feels a touch too polished, sanding down the grittier, darker realities of 1970s New York and Los Angeles in favour of a more uplifting narrative arc.

Ultimately, 'I Play Rocky' is a featherweight romp. It rarely challenges the audience on a profound level, but it consistently seeks to entertain them. Despite its minor flaws and occasional dips into sentimentality, the sheer gravitational pull of this true story is more than enough to carry it over the finish line. You don't need to be a fan of the sport, or even a fan of the 1976 classic, to appreciate the sheer lunacy of Stallone's historical gamble. Farrelly's film might not land a total knockout blow, but it easily wins on points, serving up a thoroughly enjoyable behind-the-scenes scramble that proves Hollywood history is often stranger, and sometimes much more inspiring, than fiction.