As is usually the case when Amy is away, I find ways to procrastinate. Usually, it involves pulling out a DVD she is less inclined to watch than others (ahem … , ). In this case — after I had finally waded through the I501 research proposals and assigned some grades — I put in Rocky. Even though I was so tired I had to stop halfway through (right before the First Kiss) and go to sleep, the movie was everything I remembered it being the first time I watched it.
Sylvester Stallone takes a lot of heat for his acting abilities and taste in movie-making, but Rocky is an enduring character with heavy influence on our culture and the industry. He has inspired countless plotlines and is held up as the protypical underdog. Rocky is also credited with Dick Vermeil’s open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976, the impetus for a recent true-life film, Invincible. Stallone’s own rags-to-riches journey is as inspiring as that of his on-screen counterpart, having to beg to land the role of the character he wrote. Some of the Rocky sequels were just candy (Clubber Lane) or caricature (the Don King send-up in an otherwise forgettable Rocky V), but there were also some poignant moments (Rocky dealing with his success in the first sequel). The sequels were all a shadow of the original, though, which was Oscar-worthy and a sensational film in its own right. The aforementioned First Kiss sequence, with the understated score by Bill Conti, is pretty remarkable.
Thirty years later, Frank Stallone’s movie hit Take You Back — I will admit to wearing out my own cassette of the movie soundtrack — was re-released recently, and replicas of the Rocky statue are available in time for Christmas. Many may still chuckle about his decision to bring Rocky Balboa back to the big screen — again — but the buzz is pretty positive about it. No Drago and Eye of the Tiger training montages here. There is actually story taking precedence over icon. A little cheese, but no whine, apparently. I’m anxiously awaiting its local release on December 22.
