FESTIVAL REVIEW
By now, the story of how Rocky got made has become nearly as embedded in Hollywood lore as the film itself. Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor who, tired of waiting for the role that could change his career, decided to write one himself. He wrote Rocky in three days, and while producers were impressed, they had little interest in casting him, instead offering Stallone a significant amount for the rights. He stubbornly refused, insisting he would only sell if he played the part, eventually getting his way and becoming one of the few people ever nominated for both writing and acting Oscars for the same film. I Play Rocky dramatizes that journey, from the financial struggles that led him to sell his beloved dog and appear in an adult film, through the increasingly frustrating negotiations over the lead role, to a difficult production whose minuscule budget forced the filmmakers to get creative (and arguably made Rocky much better). An underdog going the distance by making a film about going the distance. What’s not to like?
In the first scene, we meet Mike Stallone, the name Sylvester briefly adopted to sound more normal, auditioning for a role. The camera starts from behind and slowly circles to present Anthony Ippolito to the world, but all we see is Sylvester Stallone. With the help of terrific makeup, but very much through his own work, Ippolito completely disappears into the instantly recognizable actor, capturing his distinctive voice and physical mannerisms in such a natural way that never allows it to overwhelm the performance. Whether playing Stallone or Stallone playing Rocky, he inhabits the emotional beats so naturally that, much like Anthony Hopkins did in One Life, the magic of the event the film dramatizes fully translates to the new presentation. He single-handedly elevates what could have been an effective but unquestionably by-the-numbers recreation into an emotional journey in its own right.
Farrelly has always been a filmmaker interested in broad emotional responses, from the vulgar sweetness of his early comedies to the much more polished, crowd-pleasing instincts of his Oscar winner Green Book, and nothing about his approach here is subtle. His intentions are clear: arriving at each recognizable piece of Rocky trivia, but earning each of the beats. Everyone will look at the dog expecting the worst; cinephiles will be pleased to see the dramatization of the first use of the steadicam, while any Rocky fan will have chills when the film reenacts the Philadelphia steps or, eventually, when Bill Conti’s iconic score plays for the first time.
For dramatic purposes, the film exaggerates just how much of an outsider Stallone was. His previous credits are mentioned in dialogue, but once production on Rocky begins, he often comes across as an amateur stepping onto a movie set for the first time, despite having already appeared in recognizable productions including The Lords of Flatbush, Farewell, My Lovely and Death Race 2000. Similarly artificial is the obligatory family drama, with AnnaSophia Robb’s Sasha Czack providing predictable domestic conflicts, while Matt Dillon plays Stallone’s father in scenes that hint at a difficult relationship that we never see. Much of it feels carefully sanitized, willing to introduce conflict but reluctant to let anything disrupt the film’s crowdpleasiness.
Still, I Play Rocky is so well edited and moves so smoothly that it’s easy to look past these shortcomings. Farrelly builds anticipation for the familiar moments rather than rushing toward them, and by the time Stallone runs those steps or delivers his famous monologue, you can’t help but get swept up in the movie magic.
Some of that magic, of course, belongs to the 1976 Rocky, an unquestionable Hollywood classic whose images, performances, and music remain powerful enough that simply being reminded of them is often enough. But I Play Rocky finds enough heart in the story behind those images to stand on its own. When Ippolito finally says the words that give the film its title, everyone around Stallone can see how much he has to lose, while he can only see himself playing Rocky. We know he was right, but Farrelly still makes us feel the thrill of believing him.
- Where to watch
- Coming soon
- Where to watch
- Coming soonNov 19, 2026
Play trailer
- Original title
- I Play Rocky
- Director
- Peter Farrelly
- Cast
- Anthony Ippolito, Stephan James, Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J. Byrne, Jay Duplass, Kiki Seto, Toby Kebbell
- Rated
- 14A
- Screenwriter
- Peter Gamble
- Composer
- Dave Palmer
- Cinematography
- Sean Porter
- Editor
- Sam Seig
- Country
- Language
- English