Review by Nik Mohan

There’s something almost too perfect about turning the making of ‘Rocky’ into its own underdog movie. Peter Farrelly’s ‘I Play Rocky’ understands that immediately, telling the story of a broke and largely unknown Sylvester Stallone fighting to get his screenplay made while refusing to let Hollywood cast somebody else in the role that would eventually define him. It’s familiar territory, particularly if you know the mythology surrounding ‘Rocky,’ but Farrelly approaches it with enough energy, humour and genuine affection to make the journey feel worthwhile.

The film’s biggest victory is Anthony Ippolito. Playing someone as recognisable as Stallone could very easily become an extended impression, but Ippolito manages to get beyond the voice and mannerisms. Yes, the resemblance is occasionally uncanny, but it’s the stubbornness underneath the performance that really sells it. His Stallone is desperate, sometimes difficult and almost irrationally convinced that he belongs in front of the camera. That confidence could make him irritating in another movie, but here it becomes the entire point: ‘Rocky’ only exists in the form we know because Stallone was willing to gamble practically everything on himself.

Farrelly is also clearly having fun with the Hollywood side of the story. Some of the film’s best scenes come from Stallone clashing with producers and executives who want the script but cannot understand why its unknown writer insists on playing the lead. Watching increasingly tempting amounts of money get thrown at someone who desperately needs it gives those sequences an entertaining tension, even when we obviously know how everything turns out. Tracy Letts, P.J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell and Jay Duplass bring plenty of personality to the surrounding chaos, while AnnaSophia Robb gives the movie some much-needed warmth as Sasha Czack.

Where ‘I Play Rocky’ occasionally stumbles is in how determined it is to make you feel good. Farrelly leans heavily into the mythology of ‘Rocky,’ recreating famous moments and behind-the-scenes stories with an obvious affection for the original. For fans, that will probably be part of the appeal, but there are moments where the film feels more interested in celebrating the legend than digging underneath it. Stallone’s insecurities, family relationships and obsessive desire to succeed are all present, yet the movie rarely pushes them somewhere genuinely uncomfortable.

Still, it’s difficult to be too cynical about a film this enthusiastic. ‘I Play Rocky’ isn’t reinventing the music biopic — or in this case, the movie biopic — formula, but it finds a compelling story within one of Hollywood’s most famous success stories. The parallels between Stallone and Rocky Balboa are impossible to miss: both are outsiders being told they don’t belong, both refuse to stay down, and both ultimately succeed simply by lasting longer than anyone expected.

It may not land every emotional punch, but thanks largely to Ippolito’s terrific central performance, ‘I Play Rocky’ is funny, sincere and enormously easy to root for. Sometimes knowing exactly how the fight ends doesn’t make watching someone go the distance any less satisfying.

Our score (out of 5 stars): ★★★★☆