‘I Play Rocky’ Is an Unapologetic Crowd-Pleaser

The story of Rocky and its writer-star Sylvester Stallone is so simultaneously out-there and relatable, you’d think it would have long ago been told in movie form. But better late than never: I Play Rocky, directed by Peter Farrelly and written by Peter Gamble, is a crowd-pleaser that fills in the background of one of the greatest crowd-pleasers of its era. Anthony Ippolito—who has come almost out of nowhere, though he previously played Al Pacino on The Offer—stars as the very young, very broke Sylvester Stallone who, when the movie opens, in early 1970s New York, is going by the made-up first name Mike: He thinks it will increase his chances of becoming a star, though the smart, winsome girl he meets, AnnaSophia Robb’s Sasha, persuades him that his given name is actually better. Mike, soon to once again be Sylvester, reads for parts but doesn’t get them. He runs out of money and has to live on the street. He finds a puppy, also in somewhat dire straits, which he names Butkus (after football star Dick). He lands a role in a softcore film, and later gets a job taking tickets at a movie theater. It’s there that he meets Sasha, who will later become his wife. Like so many guys in so many movies before him, he tells her his dreams: He wants very badly to be an actor, and if he has to write his own roles to get there, that’s what he’ll do.