Rocky

An uneducated, impoverished boxer with a heart of gold gets a shot at the world heavyweight boxing championship

Grade: A (94/100)

Director: John G. Avildsen
Year Released: 1976

There are many characters who exist in the lovable tough guy mold, but none who embody it quite so perfectly (or so lovably) as Sylvester Stallone does in Rocky. It is a movie that is cliché from top to bottom, telling a Horatio Alger-brand story of rags to riches, but it is a feel-good movie that truly and genuinely feels good to experience. Its protagonist is its greatest asset- looking like a swollen Paul McCartney, Stallone gives a truly admirable performance as an American hero, a thirty-something guy from the wrong side of the tracks who achieves an unbelievable personal victory as a result of hard work, endurance, support, and a dash of luck. While inspirational dramas remain one of my least favorite genres, Rocky is an excellent example of everything those films do right- the ability to emotionally invest viewers in the fable-like lives of its characters while showing us the gains that can be accomplished from hard work and personal growth.

Because Rocky is a familiar story it's easy to conceptualize and become invested in it. Rocky Balboa is a secretly-sensitive boxer who loves animals and has a crush on a timid woman who lives in a pet shop; though he is unhealthy, uneducated, and unsuccessful, the viewer immediately falls in love with this gentle giant. As the submissive and very quiet Adrian, Talia Shire is impressively distinguished from her role as Connie Coreleone in The Godfather trilogies (roles in which her main job was to scream and throw dishes), delivering a subtly powerful performance as Rocky's contemporary, a woman who must learn to fight back to achieve independence from her domineering, abusive brother. It's hard to say that Carl Weathers's parody of Muhammad Ali, the theatrical Apollo Creed, is the true villain in Rocky when compared to Burt Young's Paulie, a man who is both sensitive and cruel, passive and dominating, friendly and unkind. We root for Rocky and Adrian to overcome these opponents in and out of the ring- to step out of their comfort zones and achieve greatness.

Rocky is very much a representation of the American Dream, which is why its anti-consumerism and faux-jingoism is so interesting. Apollo Creed, we are told, is a type of American idealism brought to us by materialism and a society built upon wealth and worth. It's hard nowadays, the film suggests, to find the real America lurking under the surface of the red, white, and blue celebration of greatness. Rocky Balboa is the real America according to the film- the real, fighting, blue-collar America whose heart is in the right place, who never backs down from a challenge, who can better himself, who can "go the distance". The heart of America is not in Apollo Creed, for whom boxing is a "performance"- it's in Rocky, who overcomes all the odds to achieve a shot at greatness. The fact that Creed wins the probably thrown match only emphasizes the film's critique of political and societal corruption, the aspect that turns the film from a heartwarming story into an intelligent commentary.

Opposing representations of America meet head to head

Still, there were parts of the film that made me, to be perfectly honest, uncomfortable. Rocky Balboa's character is not an intellectual, but he's a man of principles, a guy who has a pretty strong moral compass for the most part. Yet his interactions with women in the movie are troubling, from the scene in which he lectures a young girl about swearing, warning her that she'll be thought of as a "whore" by the neighborhood boys, to the scene in which he forces Adrian to stay in his apartment and kisses her despite her pleas to leave. Though his intentions are noble (for the first example anyway), Rocky is a guy who has little respect for consent and female autonomy. Though his relationship with Adrian blossoms following their encounter, the force with which he tries to unravel her from her shell is, in today's society, frankly wrong. "I'm uncomfortable being in a man's apartment alone. I don't know you well enough," she says, clearly upset, as he corners her in his room, putting his arms around her. Though his magic kiss works, allowing her to take control of herself and gain confidence, it depicts the dangerous idea that if you force affections upon a woman she will not only change her mind but change her personality, consenting to date you and to become free and fun. It's just not right and it diminished the film in my eyes.

But even despite the several glaring flaws, Rocky is a sweet movie about a kind man who overcomes all the odds to give his best shot at the world championship. It's a movie about personal growth, achievement, and hard work. It's a loud critique of cruelty, prejudice, and consumerism. It's got a legendary score and a whole bunch of famous scenes that have become commonplace in our society, from "I wanna go the distance" to punching the meat bags to, yes, running up the steps of the Philadelphia library and jumping into the air in triumph. During that scene all the viewer can do is feel her heart pound with him, a goofy grin plastered on her face, as she swells with the pride that has carried her through the film. Because ultimately, as we learn in the film's last lines, Rocky isn't a film about winning or losing- it's a film about love.

I rented Rocky on Amazon Video for something like $3.99, shortly before buying it at my local video store for two bucks.