Until you start believing in this movie, you ain’t gonna have a life.
It’s amazing that in the same year he made the awful comedy “Balls Up,” Peter Farrelly of the Farrelly brothers immediately redeems himself by making “I Play Rocky.” He and his brother knew how to make people laugh with comedies like “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary.” And like “Green Book,” it’s like we’re seeing a completely different director.
Anthony Ippolito is a young actor, whose credits include “Pixels,” “Purple Heart,” and his portrayal of Al Pacino on “The Offer.” I haven’t really heard of his name before, and as I was watching “I Play Rocky,” I was trying to figure out who it was playing Sylvester Stallone, because he is phenomenal in the role. He fits into the posture, voice, hair, and appearance, and it’s literally impossible to see flaws in his portrayal.
The movie focuses on his 1976 break-out role “Rocky,” which he wrote the screenplay in 3 and a half days. Before we get to that, we see young Sylvester (or Mike Stallone as he wanted to refer to himself as) struggling to land an audition, make ends meet and sleeping in the streets with his stray dog Butkus. He finds a lead role on the porn film “The Party at Kitty and Stud’s,” but he doesn’t continue the genre. And working at a movie theater, he falls in love with his co-worker-a photographer and would-be actress named Sasha Czack (AnnaSophia Robb).
Years later, after moving to Los Angeles, we see him working as a valet, and offscreen, he’s subjected to limited roles including “The Lords of Flatbush,” also featuring Henry Winkler. But after watching the match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner on TV, he gets to writing the screenplay for “Rocky.” He shares the project with producers Irwin Winkler (PJ Byrne) and Robert Chartoff (Toby Kebbell), who are immediately impressed with it, a lot more than the cynical and doubtful studio executive Sandy Maddox (Tracy Letts), who hates boxing movies and has the gall to tell off “The Godfather.” But that doesn’t stop the optimism of the two producers.
However…..everyone is disenchanted when Sylvester insists on being the actor to play Rocky (‘I Play Rocky,” he constantly says), instead of a major star. It’s doubtful because they believe nobody would want to see a movie with an unknown in the lead. And no matter how many negotiations he’s given, he still wants to play Rocky. I guess this is how we’re seeing this movie, an unknown at the time playing an unknown at the time. If the real Sylvester Stallone became famous, then so can Anthony Ippolito.
The collaborators of the filmmaking also include the director John G. Avildsen (Jay Duplass), the actor set to play Apollo Creed-Carl Weathers (Stephan James), and the actress set to play Rocky’s love interest Adrian Pennino-Talia Shire (Kiki Seto). And we also get Sylvester’s tough father Frank Stallone, Sr. (Matt Dillon), a would-be actor, who works as a hairdresser, and would have a dynamic with his son. We should get a little more on the father-son relationship, but it’s still brilliantly acted.
“I Play Rocky” is something made for fans of Stallone and his “Rocky” pictures, as was “Ed Wood” and “The Disaster Artist” were made for people who love their B-pictures, and “The Fabelmans” was made for Steven Spielberg fans. Every scene of filming the most iconic scenes in the 1976 film is shot with authenticity and honoring. The ice skate rink scene has to be filmed, the jogging scene has to be filmed, and the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts scene has to be filmed. It actually feels like we’re seeing the young Stallone in those scenes, thanks to the uncanny performance from Ippolito.
Besides the lead, we also get great supporting work from Robb, Dillon, Byrne, Kebbell, Duplass, and Letts. Their dialogue is whip smart and entertaining. And Farrelly and writer Peter Gamble both deliver a biopic that pulls no punches.
Special 5PM Screenings in Select Locations This Sun, Nov 1, and Nov 4.
In Theaters November 6
