Every hustler loves an underdog story. I Play Rocky is an underdog story about the guy who wrote the most famous underdog story in sports movie history. Peter Farrelly’s new film follows an unknown Sylvester Stallone as he refuses to sell his Rocky script unless he gets to play the lead. It opened in limited release on Nov. 6. Here’s IAHHM’s take, built on the cast, the facts and what the critics are saying.
The Basics
- Director: Peter Farrelly (Green Book)
- Writer: Peter Gamble
- Starring: Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone, Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., AnnaSophia Robb, Stephan James as Carl Weathers, Jay Duplass as director John Avildsen, P.J. Byrne as Irwin Winkler, Toby Kebbell as Robert Chartoff and Tracy Letts
- Runtime: 2 hours, 8 minutes
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Amazon MGM Studios
- Where to watch: In select theaters now. JoBlo reports it goes wide on Nov. 20.
Details via Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
What It’s About
It’s the mid-1970s. Stallone has a script Hollywood wants, but he refuses to let anyone else play Rocky Balboa. The movie is about that bet on himself, and what it took to get Rocky made his way, from the money people to the casting of Apollo Creed. That last part brings in Stephan James as Carl Weathers.
What the Critics Are Saying
The reviews are strong. I Play Rocky sits at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes from 91 reviews, and a 66 on Metacritic (“generally favorable”) from 32 critics, as of Nov. 7. The film premiered at TIFF in September to a big reaction, per Rotten Tomatoes.
Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus calls it “a feel-good celebration of the underdog,” adding that it “may not be as powerful as the original article but packs considerable punch thanks to Anthony Ippolito’s uncanny embodiment of Sly Stallone.”
The fans of the film are loud. Kyle Smith of the Wall Street Journal wrote that Farrelly “has fashioned an impeccable combination of lightness and soul.” The Film Stage called it “an absolute winner,” and JoBlo called Ippolito “a knockout.”
Not everybody is in Rocky’s corner, though. TheWrap’s Chase Hutchinson wrote that “disappointment is felt right from the opening moments.” Region Free took a shot at the script, saying it “might as well be a Wikipedia page,” and AwardsWatch said the film’s ’70s Philly “feels blandly artificial.”
IAHHM’s Take
Going by the reviews, the case for this movie is the lead. Critic after critic singles out Ippolito, and that matters, because a Stallone biopic lives or dies on whether you buy the guy as Sly. The film also seems to know its lane. It’s a crowd-pleaser, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else.
The knock is just as consistent. Several critics say the script plays it safe and hits the expected beats, and the look doesn’t fully sell 1970s Philadelphia. So this sounds like a movie you cheer at, not one that rewires your brain.
For our readers, the hook is bigger than boxing. This is a story about owning your work and refusing to let the suits take it from you. That’s the same fight artists in hip hop have been in for decades, from master recordings to publishing. Stallone’s bet on himself is the kind of story that plays in any studio, film or music.
The Verdict
IAHHM Verdict: Worth a theater trip, especially once it goes wide. The critical consensus says it’s a solid, feel-good biopic carried by a breakout lead performance, even if the script doesn’t land as hard as the movie it’s about.
Watch it if… you’ve got Rocky training-montage music on your workout playlist, you love a “bet on yourself” story, or you want to see Stephan James step into Carl Weathers’ shoes as Apollo Creed.
Sources
- Rotten Tomatoes: I Play Rocky
- Rotten Tomatoes: I Play Rocky first reviews
- Metacritic: I Play Rocky
- The Film Stage: TIFF review
- JoBlo: I Play Rocky review
