I Play Rocky Review – Electrifying, Inspirational, A Must See
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Tuesday, 03 November 2026 14:00
- Written by Janet Walker
I Play Rocky, from Amazon/MGM, presented, at the 40th Anniversary of the AFI Film Festival, the captivating story behind the making of the 1976 film Rocky, and the rise of Sylvester Stallone who bet the house, for his dream.
The film begins in Manhattan, in the 1970s, in a seedy single room occupancy hotel in Times Square, when we see who we know is Sylvester Stallone, played by Anthony Ippolito, walking up the stairs. He bypasses the manager and in the privacy of his room, he begins speaking difficult dialogue exercises.
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The cacophony of the city is depressing mixed with the harsh sounds of the occupants, we see the burden of his career choice is weighing him down. The next day, another audition, another rejection, this becomes the cycle until he finds himself tossed out of the SRO, bartering payment with his possessions. He sinks even lower, sleeping on the streets, until he finds an advertisment for soft-porn; broke, desperate and determined he takes the gig.
He meets Sasha, played by AnnaSophia Robb, who is special enough to introduce to his father, Frank Stallone, played by Matt Dillion. After the first meeting, Frank addresses Stallone by his real name, Sylvester. When they are walking home, Sylvester is at the place where he is trying to figure out the real reason why he isn't booking roles. She suggests that there are hundreds of Mikes but only one Sylvester.
After this he begins using his real name. They decide New York is not happening for them, and relocate to LA. Stallone begins parking cars at an exclusive club. One day, a producer explains he got him a meeting with Irwin Winkler, played by P.J. Byrne, and Robert Charttoff, played by Toby Kebbell.
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By the time Stallone arrives for the meeting, casting decisions were made, and his Italian complexion just wouldn't work. Not to let the opportunity pass him by, he adds a script he wrote to the weekend read pile, hoping it will at least be read. Fortune can be fickle, and his effort was discovered by Charttoff and Winkler's assistant, and when she was told to toss it, she replied, "it's good," which passed an unwritten test, and he was suddenly an up and coming screenwriter.
Encouraged to keep writing, however, doesn't pay the bills, and he heads to the store with Butkus, now full grown. Once again, when the store tallies up his order, he is short. Unable to shake this desolate season, the customer behinds him is instantly smitten with Butkus and Stallone, unable to see any out of this cycle of poverty, offers to sell him the dog.
The loss drives him to a bar, where a Muhammad Ali is boxing Chuck Wepner, a nobody, with no chance, as Stallone and the bartender begin betting beers, Wepner continues to surprise the world, and by the 15th round, in a match that was supposed to last minutes, inspiration strikes, and over the next three days Stallone writes, and Sasha types out the Rocky script.
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This ushers in the second act of the film, which can aptly be called negotiation, as the producers are wild about the film, and when Stallone stops them with "I play Rocky." Winkler and Charttoff meet with Sandy Maddox, played by Tracy Letts, and begin in true Hollywood fashion to throw big money numbers at Stallone who wouldn't budge from playing the lead.
Negotiation being what it is, there is a moment when both parties understand this is the final offer. Winker and Charttoff had no intention of letting Rocky go to Paramount or any other studio, and through their own deal had some leeway to make the film.
This ushers in the last inspirational act, where audiences will once again relive the magic as an impossible underdog and a Hollywood outsider begin to create one of the greatest movies of all times, all the while the wolves are at the door waiting to pounce and have him replaced.
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Captivating, and thrilling, I Play Rocky is exceptional! It is packed full of heart, emotion, grit, and determination. A story of impossibility, of every man's triumphant, of not being defined by others, and audiences will stand and cheer like it is the first time. It is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.
The ensemble cast is brilliant. Anthony Ippolito captured Stallone's mannerism, style, and voice, which is incredibly difficult with a living subject, the margin of error is minute, and Ippolito managed to win over the hearts of the audiences as his investment into living Stallone in those moments translates amazingly well. He is a hard act to follow, and still the film would not be what it is without each of the cast members who all deliver expectational, realistic, and extraordinary performances.
For any person with a dream, and the courage to bet on yourself, I Play Rocky opens exclusively in theaters November 6, 2026. See it!
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Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Runtime:128 minutes.
Release Date: November 6, 2026.
Director: Peter Farrelly.
Producer: Peter Farrelly, Toby Emmerich, Christian Baha, Michele Weiss, Paul Currie.
Executive Producer: Glen Basner, Evan Bates, Gianni Benvenuto, Mario Biancacci, Kyle Fox, Joe Guest, Patrick Josten, Walter Josten, Roland Kickinger, Laine R. Kline, Melissa Morkus, Andrew Muscato, J.B. Rogers, Michael A. Toth, Slava Vladimirov, Thomas Jordan.
Writer: Peter Gamble.
Cast: Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, Matt Dillion, Stephan James, Kiki Seto, Robert Morgan, Steve Sweeney, Scot Teller, J. Nycole, Diego Pope, Arthur Mercante Jr., Anthony Ventola, Michael Fuchs, Eric Palladino, Martin Fisher, Paul Sloan, Baxter Rogers, Gavin Mariani, Thomas Canestrario, Kyle Shariff Austin, Justin Clarke, Trevor St. John, Sail Stein, Mark Levine, John K. Kramer, Tracey Rooney, Sean Gilea, John Patrick Kessler, Roa Baldwin, John Carol, Carmine Giordano, Jackie Flynn, Tobias Forrest, Bennis W. Hall, Marla Mindelle, Rachel Zeiger-Haag, Brain Jarvis, Nic Novicki, Michael Corrente, Michael Burton, Josephine Dionysiou, Nikki Tyler-Flynn, Rob Demery, Richard Bird, Daniel Carreau, Ruben Rivera Brain Burke, Robert Zampano, Sue Dahlman, Damian Conrad-Davis, James Lee, Christian Baha, Raff Anoushian, Andre Da Silva, Vic Plajas, George B Colucci Jr.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Under the banner of her production company, HL Productions, LLC, Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
