Director: Peter Farrelly
Cast: Anthony Ippolito, Anna Sophia Robb, Toby Kebbell, P.J. Byrne, Jay Duplass, Matt Dillon, Stephan James, Tracy Letts
Screenplay: Peter Gamble
128 mins. Rated PG-13 for strong language, brief sexual materials and smoking.

Making movies about movies is nothing new, but in the past decade, films like The Disaster Artist and series like The Offer have gone behind the curtain to look at the crafting of a bona fide classic film, often finding that the stories of their creators are as interesting as the very films they’ve crafted. I Play Rocky is no exception, chronicling its writer/star as he makes the biggest gamble of his life and career, a character piece that is simply perfect for Peter Farrelly (Green Book) to helm.

Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito, Pixels) is on the verge of homelessness, working low-pay jobs and auditioning his heart to make a name in New York City with his dog Butkus. When he marries and relocates to Los Angeles, he finds that roles are not being created for him, and his wife suggests that he write roles for him, and after several failed screenplays, he’s come up with a character that embodies so much of who he is. With the script for Rocky in hand, Stallone finds an opportunity to make this film and finally rake in a little cash for his growing family. There’s just one problem: the studio doesn’t want him to play Rocky.

I Play Rocky is a movie seemingly made in the 1990s and released today. No, not really, but it features a lot of heart and a good amount of schmaltz, feeling right at home in “triumph of the human spirit” tales that defined that era of filmmaking quite well. Any fan of the Rocky franchise might know the background story, so there isn’t anything revelatory here, and we all know how it will all end, so no major surprises at play, but I Play Rocky functions as an inspiring story of betting on oneself and sticking with your heart.

I didn’t know Anthony Ippolito, and after seeing the film, I’m still not sure I do; the actor effortlessly disappears into the persona of Sylvester Stallone to the point that I had to check and ensure there was no archival audio or video used to create the performance, but it works as more than just great cosplay, as he embodies the spirit of Stallone and his drive to make something for and of himself. His performance matches levels committed by Jafar Jackson in Michael from earlier this year, functioning as incredible mimicry and also real emotion and heart.

At first glance, it seems that the central conflict of the film is just convincing some studio people to let him have the lead role, but as Peter Gamble’s screenplay shows, getting the role is just the start. As the script unfolds casually, Gamble is able to pile on Stallone’s opposition by way of the contract he signs, informing him that if production falls behind by even a day, he gets replaced. The production shoot for Rocky is an endurance test with journeyman director Jon Avildsen (Jay Duplass, Other Mommy) at the helm, exemplifying the magic of film ingenuity and how necessity is the mother of invention. Gamble’s screenplay ramps up nicely and makes what would seem like an uneven story into a hero’s journey with some excellent payoff.

Throughout production, Avildsen comforts/pushes back on Stallone by telling him that great movies are made great by one performance that changes everything, and the quest becomes the search for that moment. Ironically, that scene in Rocky is also dramatized here in a scene that is also THAT MOMENT, with an emotional payoff for Ippolito’s performance that really lands Farrelly’s film, a climactic moment of catharsis for Stallone.

I Play Rocky is not reinventing cinema; it’s a throwback to the style of filmmaking and storytelling of a bygone era and feels pulled directly from the past. Most of the real-life figures featured in the film are given room to breathe rather than commit to impression-only performance, and the screenplay highlights a number of darker elements in Stallone’s past rather than working as a sugarcoating of the whole thing. Ippolito is incredible here and the rest of the cast make the most of a simple but compelling screenplay, and Farrelly smartly keeps the focus on the real people in the film as opposed to just recreating scenes (though his skill in this department is really good as well). Honestly, there could be a whole franchise following Stallone through the various films in his life, like I Play Rambo or I Play Rocky II, and I’d probably still watch them, but I’m loving this subgenre of films about the making of specific films like how Disaster Artist looked at the production of The Room, and I’d argue that a movie about Sam Raimi making The Evil Dead should be looked at as well. As for I Play Rocky, this is a great old-fashioned character piece and a fully entertaining film experience that just about anyone, but especially Rocky fans, can enjoy.

4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For more Peter Farrelly: Dumb & Dumber, Fever Pitch, Green Book