#TIFF26: “I PLAY ROCKY” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) moves to Los Angeles with the hopes of being an actor. He works as a valet to get by and writes scripts when he is at home. After watching a particularly inspiring boxing match, he writes Rocky. The studio execs are excited to make the picture and Stallone is eager to sell – but only if he can play the lead.

From that description alone, you should know whether or not I PLAY ROCKY from Director Peter Farrelly (who won People’s Choice at TIFF and later Best Picture at the Oscars for Green Book) is the kind of movie you will gravitate to. It’s a crowd-pleaser through and through, filled with laughs, heart and a keen emphasis on the magic and wonder of making movies. It leans into the myths and tales you have heard before (including the one about Stallone selling and then buying back his dog), and lovingly recreates classic scenes from Rocky. And yes, of course it finds time to play Bill Conti’s legendary score. Farrelly stays surface level for the most part, never asking his cast to dig too deep nor veering too far from the beaten path of making a movie about making movies. It’s the right choice for a conventional feel good picture like this about a 50-year-old(!) film and no one should be be expecting anything different.

Though it sometimes comes off as a caricature or mere impression, Ippolito puts in the work embodying the look, sound and vibe of Stallone. He is a dead ringer for the action star in some scenes, and his voice work is downright eerie for how close it sounds. While I would have loved to have seen him afforded more time to be introspective, Ippolito still manages to put his entire heart and soul into a performance that just might be his star-making turn. Supporting players like Toby Kebbell and P.J. Byrne (as Producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler), Toronto’s own Stephan James (as Carl Weathers)and especially Jay Duplass (as Director John Avildsen) is each afforded their own moments to shine and do a solid job backing up Ippolito.

They really don’t make ‘em like they used to, do they?

I PLAY ROCKY screens at TIFF ‘26:

Sat. Sept 12 at 6:00 PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Sun. Sept 13 at 11:15 AM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Fri. Sept 18 at 5:45 PM at TIFF Lightbox