‘I Play Rocky’ Review: Anthony Ippolito Channels Sylvester Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s Cleverly Crafted Crowd-Pleaser About the Making of ‘Rocky’

It taps into the love of "Rocky" that's never gone away, showing you how the movie found its meaning in the idiosyncrasy of its creation.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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For a biographical drama to work, it’s not required that the central actor do a pinpoint uncanny, so-close-to- the-real-thing-you-might-think-it’s-the-real-thing impersonation of the person he’s playing. But Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” may be a special case. It’s a movie about the making of “Rocky” — about how Sylvester Stallone, then a two-bit actor in his late 20s, dreamed it, wrote it, sold it, and insisted he play the lead role in it. Since “Rocky” is one of the most popular and beloved movies ever made, and Stallone one of the most famous stars in the history of Hollywood, it’s actually essential for the actor playing him to get it right. If not, we would just be in cheesy-tacky TV-movie land.

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