Release Date – 6th November 2026, Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 8 minutes, Director – Peter Farrelly
Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) decides to create his own leading role opportunity and writes Rocky, however studio execs (Tracy Letts) are determined to oust him from production.
I Play Rocky is for people who love the Rocky sequels. Not just fans of the Best Picture winning original film, but those who will also religiously rewatch the underdog story retold with different opponents (and sometimes a robot). It’s fitting, therefore, that this retelling of the production where all the odds were against soon-to-be-star Sylvester Stallone (here brilliantly mirrored by Anthony Ippolito) feels destined for repeat showings on ITV4.
From the director of Green Book comes another cliched tale that’s lifted by its performances. We’ve seen I Play Rocky multiple times before; in general underdog stories, rags-to-riches tales and in Rocky itself. Stallone is fed up with being passed on for lead roles, or even writing opportunities, however when encouraged by girlfriend Sasha (AnnaSophia Rob) to write something for himself in three-and-a-half days he writes from the heart and comes up with Rocky. Producers Irwin Winkler (P.J. Byrne) and Robert Chartoff (Toby Kebbell) love the script, but know that studio execs (led by Tracy Letts) won’t want an unknown in the lead role. However, Stallone insists.
Thus begins a far-bigger-than-necessary chunk of the film involving constant back-and-forth between star and producers raising the offer for the rights to the screenplay, without him as Rocky. Beginning as a montage and growing into successive scenes the film genuinely appears to be more about a cycle of negotiations than the production itself, of which details appear more anecdotal about the injuries faced by the future multi-Oscar-nominee.
The film is generally fine, if at times confusingly focused, and plays out well enough thanks to the safety with which it’s made. There’s a base interest for Rocky, and a general underdog story, and this hagiographic telling of its production plays along those lines – “I’m proud of the fact that Stallone loves it” director Peter Farrelly said in a brief introduction to the film shortly after it was unveiled as the Surprise Film at this year’s London Film Festival. There are likable moments and details that help see things through a just over 2-hour run-time, and as mentioned the performances help to lift things up – particularly Ippolito’s spot-on Stallone which avoids feeling like pure impression or caricature.
A few good jokes crop up here and there, particularly those based around the actions of executives, with production trying to hide from those checking if they have a filming permit, or other productions at the time – Scorsese’s New York, New York gets a brief mention. And as a whole there’s an amusing quality to the film that also helps to see it through, and will likely make it a dad’s favourite film since Rocky IV, if not Rocky Balboa. As a whole I Play Rocky is a familiar underdog story in multiple ways, they’re familiar beats that have been proven to work on numerous occasions, and so continue to do so here with the added factor of a beloved story, without fully hammering the similarities between character and actor, the film fittingly avoids calling itself I Am Rocky. However, with how much time is actually spent playing Rocky perhaps I Negotiate Rocky would have been a more accurate title.
Focused more on a cycle of negotiations than production, I Play Rocky’s retelling of the iconic film’s production plays it safe. With dashes of amusement and likable details there’s enough to see things through, but patches throughout feel largely anecdotal, lifted by Anthony Ippolito’s brilliant turn as Stallone.
