#TIFF26 Review: I Play Rocky (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado

There’s little denying that 1976’s underdog boxing movie Rocky is one of the most beloved and enduring American films of all time. It was the Italian-American success story, and now director Peter Farrelly’s rip-roaring crowdpleaser I Play Rocky cleverly turns the making of the movie – and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone’s dogged persistence to star it in – into another one.

Farrelly’s film focuses on a young Stallone (played by Anthony Ippolito) trying to make it as an actor, but not landing any parts and barely scraping up enough to feed himself. So he decides to write his own screenplay, with his wife Sasha (AnnaSophia Robb, a wonderful supporting presence) dutifully typing out his handwritten script pages.

This eventually leads to him writing a boxing movie about a working class Italian kid rising from the streets to become a champion in the ring. Stallone gets this script into the hands of two producers, Irwin Winkler (P.J. Byrne) and Robert Chartoff (Toby Kebbell), who option it. Studio head Sandy Maddox (Tracy Letts) wants to make the movie, but also to cast a known name in the leading role.

Stallone won’t let the script go unless he gets the part, and every time they raise the offer to buy it of him, he repeats those same three words; “I play Rocky.” Farrelly gets a lot of mileage out of these scenes. Stallone’s perseverance to not only get this movie made, but also to play this role that he wrote for himself, provides the backbone of I Play Rocky, and the emotional beats of seeing him eventually succeed land in a big way.

Ippolito transforms into Sylvester Stallone in a star-making performance. Not only his voice, which Ippolito nails, but also his mannerisms and body movements. It’s uncanny to watch. Beyond mere impersonation, Ippolito also finds his own emotional arc in his portrayal of a struggling young actor. If Ippolito is the clear star, every member of this ensemble cast fits their part perfectly. The trio of Byrne, Kebbell and Letts are all great in scene-stealing roles. Jay Duplass is also a standout as cantankerous Rocky director John G. Avildson, who is brought in to direct the film on a shoestring budget.

The last act of Farrelly’s film, charting the actual on-the-fly production of Rocky in Philadelphia, encapsulates the pure joy of making a movie, not really knowing if it’s going to work or not, but capturing lightning in a bottle. We know the breakout, Oscar-winning success that Rocky became. But that doesn’t take away from how satisfying it is to watch it come together in I Play Rocky. And that’s kind of the magic of Farrelly’s film.

Yes, I Play Rocky is building emotional beats off of meticulously recreating moments from production and scenes from the original Rocky, but it works. And when that iconic music starts to kick in, the experience is undeniably effective. We know what the film is doing. And yet it keeps hitting. Scene after scene lands in a way that evokes an incredibly satisfying reaction. The proof is in how the film played through the roof at the TIFF premiere, with applause throughout and a standing ovation.

It simply works. As great entertainment, as a movie about making a movie, and as a story about coming from the streets and making it big. It’s the perfect tribute to Rocky. And that’s the highest praise you can give I Play Rocky.