1976. 120 Minutes. Rated PG.
Quote: Adrian: Why do you wanna fight?
Rocky: Because I can’t sing or dance. Heyyyyy…
How the hell am I supposed to intro this? I’ve been watching Rocky movies since I was 6 years old maybe. In a lot of ways, I feel like Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and his trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) raised me. They don’t need any more tribute than the millions of fans worldwide, and I’m just another ginny fan boy, but they impacted me a lot. The world’s greatest underdog story inspired this underdog in every way… so here we go.
Rocky – Chartoff-Winkler Productions
Rocky Balboa was a past his prime club boxer in South Philly. He lives in a rundown apartment with a couple of turtles, and does what he can to get by. He works on the docks collecting for a local loan shark named Gazzo (Joe Spinell). He’s not too good at it, though, he’s all heart and can’t hurt people for money like that. Gazzo knows it, and does his best to help him and treat him well. He takes small time fights whenever he can get them, but otherwise, he never really had a shot.
Rocky’s only friend is another local bum named Paulie (Burt Young). Paulie works at the meat packing plant, and drinks up every cent he makes, and some of the cents Rock makes too. Paulie’s sister Adrian (Talia Shire) works at the pet shop across the street, and Rocky has a big ol’ crush on her.
On the other side of the city, the world heavyweight boxing champion happens to find himself without an opponent, as his was injured and pulled out of the fight. Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) was based on Muhammad Ali; he’s smart, he’s good looking, and he can talk. Forget talk, he could sell a ketchup popsicle to a women in white gloves. I’m so young that I actually discovered Apollo Creed before Ali, try that one on for size.
So there’s Apollo, hanging in Philly, he can’t bear to have wasted the training camp, and leave that money on the table, so he decides to pick a local unranked fighter and give him a shot at the title. Who’s it gonna be? The Italian Stallion Rocky Balboa. He goes on TV, takes a few cheap shots and jokes from the champ, and thus we’ve got ourselves a fight.
My favorite scene in the history of the Rocky Balboa story comes next. Mickey offers to train him and be his manager. After avoiding each other for 10 years, they have it out, bury the past, and dig in together to start the training.
This movie really set me up at a young age to follow my dreams, to believe in my self. It’s not about winning the girl, or winning the fight. Winning the fight isn’t even his goal. He just wants some respect. He wants them to believe that he belongs there.
The List:
1.The Characters
This picture has all the archetypical characters you expect in an underdog tale of fiction. The wise man, the damsel in distress, the comedic sidekick, the villain. It’s got the overwhelming odds, the 3rd act montage where the hero is ready to face down the dragon with a small sword and smaller shield, it’s all in there. This was a different way to show it, though. The hero isn’t the prince, he isn’t the king, he’s not the #2 fighter in the world… he’s nobody, from nowhere. Apollo Creed literally picks his name out of a book because he thinks the buildup sounds like a monster movie, and it’s something he can sell.
Rocky Balboa doesn’t even deserve to be in the position he’s in, but guess what… who the hell ever does? I’ve had some amazing opportunities in my life (I mean for me amazing). I got a career, I got the girl, I got a little money and some fun tattoos. I drive a car that works, and my neighbors give me a discount at their family shoe store. My life ain’t perfect, but mostly… I got no complaints. Did I deserve any of these things? You’re suspicions are right, I didn’t. I grab hold of any opportunity that comes near me, whether I worked for it or I didn’t, and I grab on TIGHT. Like Rocky Balboa.
Mickey Goldmill is the same way, he’s the wild old sage who never got what he wanted, but chooses to try again, and live through Rocky Balboa, to empower him to go where Mickey never could… all the way to the top… to the title. Apollo Creed is Muhammed Ali, he embodies Cassius Clay in a way that even Will Smith didn’t achieve when he played Ali. Carl Weathers was just perfect. Flashy, funny, sharp as a tac, and unbeatable in the ring, a surgeon with boxing gloves. The best. Burt Young plays Paulie Pennino, Rocky’s best friend and Adrian’s brother. He loves them both, but his own self loathing refocuses on those around him. He often bad mouths them and tells them what they can’t accomplish. Somehow you love the guy anyways. He has his moments, and when they arrive you can tell how much he really cares, he’s just a bit of a grump. He’s loyal, too, though.
These characters are nothing special on paper, just what you’d think they would be, but by far they each brought the very best acting of their careers to this roles, and every one of them were nominated for their efforts.
2.The Arc
Like most good underdog stories, the arc is very present. Rocky starts in the gutter quite literally. He takes his shots to make something of himself, and impress the shy girl from the pet store. When opportunity comes knocking, he knows he’s got nothing to lose, no dignity, no self respect, not much of anything, so why not, let’s go!
As the story builds, you see him for what he really is: a shy, heart on his sleeve underdog, who would love so much to be the big strong man that could make everyone proud. When we reach the final act, though, something changes… where every other story focuses the hero on the ultimate goal, this movie goes off in a truly new direction. He doesn’t want to win, I mean he does, but it’s not about that. He just wants to prove something to himself, and to everyone else. He’s not a nobody, he does deserve to be there. He wants some respect and god damn it, it’s time to show the world… he’s here, and he’s got a point to prove.
Rocky – Chartoff-Winkler Productions
3. Going The Distance
The fight makes the movie. It’s crazy, whenever I am talking to folks about movies, I’ll mention Rocky. For example, suppose I’m talking about… I dunno, Lord of the Rings… I’ll focus on the true meaning and I’ll say something like “Hey, Rocky wasn’t about boxing, and Lord of the Rings wasn’t about the ring… it’s the journey.” Rocky isn’t about boxing. Sure, it’s a great boxing film, and I’m a life long fight fan because of the Rocky series, but it’s about going after your dreams, it’s about believing in yourself, it’s not about how hard you can hit, but about how hard you can get hit… and keep moving forward. Rocky doesn’t need the belt, he doesn’t need the money, he doesn’t need the praise or the fame… he just needs the respect. He wants to believe in himself and not leave his dreams behind. He wants to go the distance.
(end of The List)
There’s so much more to say about Rocky Balboa, about his story, and about these characters, but I’m trying to stay focused. Just telling you he’s my favorite fictional character of all time doesn’t even scratch the surface. I’ll just say that even writing this is a joy, because I get to think about Rocky and his journey, and of me and my own.
The series has spanned over 40 years, and in the fall of 2018 we’ll get Creed 2 (or Rocky 8, if you are keeping count). Each story has it’s own flavor and brings it’s own chapter to the overall tale of Rocky Balboa. We’ll see which of the sequels land on The Big Brown Chair. Two important facts to never forget though, it all started with the first, and the first was the only to win Best Picture.
