The true story of how unknown actor Sylvester Stallone decides to write his own screenplay after failing to get hired, willing to risk everything for the project he believed in. Rocky.
I Play Rocky is a true emotional journey into the fight that Stallone had to put in for the film to not only be made, but for the right to actually star in it. So basically the making of the film had the same story as Rocky at it’s core. The timing for this release is just perfect to match up with the 50th anniversary.
We see Sly heading to many different auditions and not being considered, losing his job in the process of going to one and ending up sleeping rough on the streets. Starts working at a cinema and meets Sasha, everything will change when that relationship begins to take off and they decided to make a big move. He is then parking cars and begins to write different scripts, life is a huge struggle and that gives him the edge to push with all he’s got and be Rocky. Highlighting the difficult relationship he had with his father Frank.
I really enjoyed the way they decided to go with it and thought it gave a very interesting insight into how films were made and the way studios would go about the business, I am guessing 50 years on that it is very different now though. The way Irwin Winkler and Robert Chatoff actually supported the passion from Sly and believed in his vision of Rocky was really good to see unfold. Then we reach the point of them filming, and we get to see so many of the scenes and moments we have grown to love being completed and it just felt wonderful.
I am a huge Rocky fan and love the franchise (so much I went to Philadelphia for the day from NYC in summer so I could visit/run the steps), I had therefore been really looking forward to this film and it certainly did not disappoint. I nearly found myself crying at the end of the film when the steps scene was on at the cinema viewing and people jumped up to celebrate when he got to the top!
The casting was absolutely brilliant and credit needs to go to Anthony Ippolito who really did become Stallone and Rocky – a double task of actually being both characters! P.J Byrne and Toby Kebbell worked very well together as the two producers, with Stephan James and Kiki Seto being just perfect as Carl Weathers/Apollo and Talia Shire/Adrian. Jay Duplass was quite the scenestealer at times as director John Avildsen.
