Rocky

Sly Stallone is a raw nerve at the center of what may be the greatest dad movie of all time! You can tell how personal this story is to him, and that really helps everything going on. I had seen bits and pieces of this on cable growing up, and had watched it for the first time in its entirety as a bright-eyed college freshman and was wholly unimpressed by the mumbling, somewhat repetitive performance of the Rocky character. The weight of the themes couldn’t fully sink in because I hadn’t lived any life yet, but this watch through was almost religious to me… Rocky’s empowerment (and Adrianne’s!) is so earned on the screen that I found myself emotionally devastated in the best possible way watching them find love and success. The electricity of watching that final fight, fully invested in the outcome like it was my own dignity on the line, has to rival any other movie sporting event I can remember, even if ending with “I love you” was a bit underwhelming to cap things off. The cinematography feels so 70’s, from the street walking, to the intense colors, to the beautiful use of shadows. I always love movies from this decade for the time capsule element of seeing places that just don’t exist in the same ways anymore. Even the way people spoke felt different, so things that might be corny or weird today feel like pieces of a culture that I just wasn’t a part of.  The direction here is great in its sensitivity to the characters and their lives, and points our focus to visuals to deepen the meaning of everything else that we’ve seen or been told the entire time. I was not familiar with John Avildsen’s game, but I will be seeking out his other work very soon to chase this dragon! Finally, “Gonna Fly”…. I know it’s my love for the late, great jazz trumpet icon, Maynard Ferguson, but I can’t hear this without being overwhelmed with emotion. There’s an amazing video out there of every trumpet player you’ve never heard of playing this as a tribute to Maynard at his funeral, and it could bring down any house. Hearing this as Rocky makes his final training run, cheered at by community members who now have his back, and watching as he makes it to the top of the steps, not beaten down by his exercise, but emboldened by his overcoming of circumstance, has to be some of the most fist pumping, laugh-crying, fuck yeah man type shit that I can possibly think of. I cant believe I was so wrong the first time I saw this.  Obviously I thought it was great and recommend.