By John Corrado

We now have our first trailer for I Play Rocky, director Peter Farrelly’s drama about the making of the 1976 film Rocky, starring Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone. I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised by how promising this trailer looks, presenting the true story behind the making of the iconic boxing drama as its own inspirational rags-to-riches story. Ippolito also bares a striking resemblance to a young Stallone.

Farrelly, of course, moved away from pure comedies and won the Best Picture Oscar for Green Book in 2018, and followed it up with the underrated The Greatest Beer Run Ever, which went nowhere. Both of those films premiered at TIFF, and I’m guessing I Play Rocky will as well; if this trailer is any indication, it has the potential to play through the roof with audiences here. This looks like a pure crowdpleaser.

Amazon MGM Studios is releasing the film exclusively in theatres on November 6th, right in the thick of awards season.