A "Rocky" Critic Responds

My toss-off surprise at how much I enjoyed Rocky hit a real nerve ... I post it here to give the other side a voice. Thanks to Jay for speaking up! Somehow I feel that Scott Nehring probably agrees as he and I quite often disagree on movies.

The uncritical adoration of the movie Rocky is one of my pet peeves of the fans of popular culture. Average people feel that life is so harsh that they adopt patently bogus heroes and products that they would never accept in other parts of their life. This is especially true in sports movies. To wit: Rocky is a horrible movie, that is loved by people starving for "uplifting underdog stories," but the same people would never accept such treacle in the lives, books, non-sports movies, or non-fiction.

Rocky is horrible because it is so fake. Most true film fans have hated the movie for this artifice from the first day of its release, and not just in hindsight of better boxing movies (Fat City released two years before Rocky is a much better dramatic and authentic movie) for tangible reasons:

• The boxing choreography is so fake, World Wrestling Federation workers think it could use some work. The gloves clearly do not hit bodies, the exaggerated reactions and head flailing, the lack of jabs or even a typical first round of "feeling-out" and circling by the fighters... it is all stomach turningly inauthentic.
• Philly boxer as underdog, why not use the story of Joe Frazier?
• Stallone cast himself in the title role purely out of vanity and career advancement. He is a horrible cinema boxer, and is way too short to have been cast as a heavyweight. It really shows in the fight scenes against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), a real professional athlete/heavyweight boxer size. In real life, Apollo Creed would have literally killed Rocky Balboa on this size differential alone. When people pointed this out to Stallone for the sequels, he artificially enhanced his body type with steroids and human growth hormone. Again, Rocky is worse than WWF. But Stallone was still way too short to be cast as a heavyweight fighter.
• The screenplay, which earned Stallone an Oscar, is amateurish. Very amateurish. The first 70 minutes is way to slow and talky... and talky in a way that was not convincing. The words coming out of Rocky Balboa's mouth in the scenes with Adrian are artificially profound for a character that in the exposition of the movie is clearly established as being a brutish mob collector, a loser, showing signs of being punch-drunk.
• The music is a joke. Movie music is supposed to support the action on screen, not overwhelm or be better than the images. Obvious, overblown, too loud, unsubtle music is not good movie score.

Overall, the movie industry has spent the past thirty years trying to obliterate the inexplicable popularity of Rocky. Every boxing movie since Rocky is superior, and a couple are heights of cinema art. Scorsese made Raging Bull to show the true brutality of boxing, boxers and boxing culture (with much better music and much better cinematography and tremendous boxing choreography). Downbeat at times, yes; great movie art, absolutely. Ron Howard made the great Cinderella Man to correct Rocky and Raging Bull (authentic details of life pre-Depression and in the middle of the Depression, brutality of boxing, music that supports the story, the underdog story of a decent Christian man unerringly doing decent things throughout the film staying in character, tremendous boxing choreography, correct body types for the era). This "Cult of Rocky" has corrupted actual sports culture: movie and sports fans now only relate to underdogs, and not excellence or decency. Even if the underdog is visibly inauthentic.

In response, I do not necessarily disagree with much of what Jay says as I don't know a thing about boxing and don't care. Face it, that is much of the moviegoing public, hence part of Rocky's appeal. The movie is not about boxing really. As Jay points out, it is the story of an underdog who has taken the low road every time. Rocky's trainer points this out bluntly. What appeals is that when Rocky is given a chance (yes, an unbelievable chance but this is the movies so that is part of the deal sometimes) it spurs him on to fulfill his potential.

Has it been done better? Yes, undoubtedly and in many more genres than boxing movies. As we all know, many more genres than sport movies have showed us that tale. As well, it clearly should have been edited better. It would have been nice to have some of the redundancy in dialogue cleared away. And, yet, that is also what made it seem more real. Because people are redundant and stagey in real life conversation sometimes, especially when they are ill at ease as Rocky quite often is.

I have to agree about the large musical numbers, which are now dated as well as over the top. However, if one goes back and listens to the music aside from that, one finds that the music is, if anything, understated with piano being merely a support for the mood of various scenes ... and then only when desired.

Believe me, when I say that I am not a die-hard Rocky fan. I saw this in the movies when it came out. Haven't seen it since nor any of the following Rocky movies. I fully expected to see an overdone, cheesy movie that we would mock for being in any top 100 list. That is why I was surprised. It is not the best movie ever, however, as I said before, like an indy movie with a big marketing budget.

If it makes you feel any better, Jay, it did make me want to watch Cinderella Man ... and I have never been interested before. So perhaps you could look at Rocky as a "stepping stone" movie if that helps at all.

Now, on a very loosely related subject ... who else has found Carl Weathers (who played Apollo Creed in Rocky) to be absolutely hilarious in Arrested Development?

Tobias Fünke: Do you see me more as the respected dramatic actor or more of the beloved comic actor?

Carl Weathers: Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you've got a stew going.

Tobias Fünke: Yes, that's fine, but I would like to focus on my acting, Mr. Weathers. I did give you my last $1, 100.

Carl Weathers: Let me tell you a little story about acting. I was doing this Showtime movie, Hot Ice with Anne Archer, never once touched my per diem. I'd go to Craft Service, get some raw veggies, bacon, Cup-A-Soup... baby, I got a stew going.

Tobias Fünke: [pause] I think I'd like my money back.

UPDATE
TO has some good comments about Rocky and reality in movies.

Best of 2023 — Movies

 Here are my top picks from our year of viewing. We watched  around 125 movies last year.  

As always, the movies may be old, but my viewing was brand new in 2023. In no particular order.

I began my "Best of" lists way back in 2008. To see them, check the label cloud in the sidebar under "Best of ..."

2023 BEST MOVIES

Grand Hotel

The first Hollywood all-star epic with a lot of high-powered stars of the 1930s. We watched it because we were working our way through the Oscar winner/nominees for 1923. This is the movie where Greta Garbo's famous "I want to be alone" line originated. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed this very good movie which can hold its own against stories of today.

(My review here.)

Bholaa

This is a big action movie with lots of great stunts and acting from some top Bollywood stars. Moreover it was a compelling story with clearly drawn characters, excellent acting, clever twists, stylish choreography and imagery, and over-the-top action very well done.

(My review here.)

Confess, Fletch
Honor Among Thieves
Game Night

These are three movies whose only goal is to entertain. There have been precious few of those lately from Hollywood so we were thrilled to find them. Each is silly in its own way, but each one is fun in just the right way.

(My review here.)

Kantara

Shiva is a tribal vagabond who lives with his mother in a tiny forest village. He avoids participation in the traditional worship ceremonies due to an unforgettable childhood incident. He is happy loafing around with his friends and doing petty jobs for his landlord. When forest officer Murali enters the scene, it gives a fresh dimension to the man-vs-nature fight. Can Shiva save the forest from Murali?

(My review here.)

Father Stu

This is that rare find, a well done Christian movie. Usually we avoid faith based films like the plague because  but we gave this a chance because we were intrigued not only by the basic story but by Mark Wahlberg's dedication to getting it produced. Our faith was well rewarded.

(My review here.)

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
(Rocky and Rani's Love Story)

Rocky is a loud, showy Punjabi from a family who made their fortune making laddoos (sweets). Rani is a sophisticated, stylish television personality from a Bengali family. Brought together by a fluke because each loves their grandparents, they fall in love. This romantic comedy is a three-hour long, dance loaded, romance loaded movie that leaves you smiling. It's been described as "delicious eye candy with a rebellious core" and nothing could be truer. (My review here.)

 

Kathal — A Jackfruit Mystery

We all really loved this movie which follows Inspector Mahima Basor and her team as they pursue the ridiculous case of two stolen jackfruits. Everyone realizes it is a waste of resources but no one will say no to the politician. As you might expect there is a fair amount of humor but it is usually gentle and understated, which can be a rarity in Indian movies.

(My review here.)

Brochevarevarura
(Who Shall Save the Day?)

This story has the framework of an aspiring scriptwriter who is telling the story to an actress who he hopes to interest in starring in the film he's writing. The film pops in and out of this framework and it is interesting to see how the story can subtly change going forward based on the actress's questions or comments. Halfway through the film a plot twist popped up that left us astounded and intrigued. This made all the difference.

(My review here.)

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, part 1

We closed out the year with the latest Mission Impossible movie. These are always fun because they are so reliable. You know you are getting real entertainment along with a dose of uncompromising view of good versus evil, right versus wrong. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is on the right side, albeit having to overcome flaws along the way. I especially enjoyed the many flashes of humor throughout. We thoroughly enjoyed this movie and can't wait for part 2.

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Rocky and Rani's Love Story)

Rocky is a loud, showy Punjabi from a family who made their fortune making laddoos (sweets). Rani is a sophisticated, stylish television personality from a Bengali family. Brought together by a fluke because each loves their grandparents, they fall in love. Struggling to plan their future with such different backgrounds they do the only logical thing (from a Bollywood point of view) — live with each other's  families for three months to adjust to their cultures and backgrounds and to know if their marriage will survive. This leads to funny and interesting contrasts as each has something to learn and something to teach their "new" families.

Rocky Aur Rani is a three-hour long, dance loaded, romance loaded movie that leaves you smiling. It's been described as "delicious eye candy with a rebellious core" and nothing could be truer. Ranveer Singh as Rocky has never been more charming or energetic. Alia Bhatt makes the romance seem genuine. As well as the romance, the contrast between traditional and progressive values gives you something a little deeper than the fun and froth. 

Highly recommended.

NOTES FOR INDIAN MOVIE FANS:

Rocky Aur Rani also is a delightful blending of old and new. We couldn't appreciate it the way that it would strike Indian audiences but our limited knowledge still made us happy when we recognized callbacks to old Indian films. The music was composed by superstar Pritam as an homage to 1960s and 70s songs from Bollywood classics. Some of the actors were actually in those classics. We were especially delighted to see Dharmendra and Jaya Bachan (who we'd seen in the curry-western Sholay, as well as a few other films). 

Partway through, this suddenly struck me forcibly as a modern take on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G - my review). We watched it early in our Indian movie explorations and it didn't go down well for this American family. I'd forgotten most of the details but somehow that K3G vibe was there. Afterward, I remembered it was an early film for Rocky Aur Rani's director, Karan Johar. It's as if he was shaking off the cobwebs and bringing it into the present. I don't tend to love Johar's films, but this time — we thoroughly approved.

Best Sports Movies?

I've seen people around the blogosphere saying that Hoosiers is the best sports movie ever.

I haven't seen a lot of sports movies. I knew it had Gene Hackman so that gave the "best sports movie ever" some more credibility. I knew it was about basketball in Indiana, which I discovered from watching the movie is like saying it is about football in Texas.

We were underwhelmed.

It was a fine movie with some good moments. However, it was merely "fine." Not "great." Certainly not "best sports movie ever."

Now, I am slightly hampered in recommending the "best sports movie ever" by the fact that, as I said, I haven't seen tons of sports movies. For instance, sometime I will get around to watching Cinderella Man. Not being a Russell Crowe fan, that may take a while. Also, there are lots of movies that showed up under IMDB's sports movie list which we didn't think were really about the sports as much as other things.

However, we were able to come up with this list of movies that if not "the best ever" certainly were enjoyed more in our household than Hoosiers.

1. Miracle
   American underdogs beating the Russian hockey kings in the Olympics ... it don't get much better than that.
   


2. Friday Night Lights
   Texas, football, Billy Bob Thornton ... 'nuff said.
   


3. Remember the Titans
   football, overcoming segregation, Denzel Washington, killer soundtrack ... once more, 'nuff said.
   


4. Seabiscuit
   the little horse that could ... and Toby Maguire too.
   


5. Shaolin Soccer
   a strange but funny blend of soccer, shaolin kung fu, and pop culture references ... all with hilariously bad translations every so often.
   


6. Rocky
   I have to tell you? It's Rocky. Period.

A Little More Bollywood: Chak De! India and Ek Tha Tiger

RAW agent Tiger is on a mission to retrieve information from a scientist in Dublin. The plot centers on an Indian spy (RAW) code-named Tiger who falls in love with a Pakistani spy (ISI) during an investigation and how Tiger’s ideology and principles change over time.

This was our first movie by Salman Khan, the last of the Three Khans for us to sample.

The movie had problems, being a blend of James Bond with romantic comedy. And not a stellar version of either genre was being blended If that sounds awkward, then I did my job describing it.

Adding to the problems, Khan reminded me of no one so much as Sylvester Stallone. Now, there's nothing wrong with Sylvester Stallone. I am second to none in my admiration of Rocky, but he has definite limitations as an actor. And that's what we saw in this example of Khan's work.

Just a few Bollywood song and dance numbers in this one, with the stellar one being over the end credits. I realized I was a bit addicted to the Bollywood format by how happy I was to see a musical number begin. Happy out of all proportion considering they used to make me roll my eyes.

This won't be our last sampling of Salman Khan's movies. I want to give him a fair chance. He's a top Bollywood actor. But this isn't his finest hour. (Or if it is, then he just isn't be my favorite of the Three Khans.)

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Chak De! India follows a team of rag-tag girls with their own agenda who form Team India competing for international fame in field hockey. Their coach, the ex-men’s Indian National team captain, returns from a life of shame after being unjustly accused of match fixing in his last match. Can he give the girls the motivation required to win, while dealing with the shadows of his own past?

This was really solid. Shahrukh Khan shows he can play nice with others by not having to be in a lot of the scenes even though he is the main character and star. This is our second of his films and it was nice to see him in a more conventional role though I did miss seeing him shirtless in a dance number. This movie had songs but, as seems to be the case with some of the modern movies, they were played against standard montages (training, traveling, etc.).

It was a fairly straight forward feminist underdog sports film with an interesting undertone of combating regionalism in favor of nationalism. I never knew that was an Indian problem but I read that this movie was really significant for India in several ways and I'd guess that was one of them.

Overall it is, as I said, solid. And definitely enjoyable.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Heads Up on Upcoming Film: Alison's Choice

Alison's Choice is a film about a teenager, Alison, who is pregnant and seriously considering having an abortion, but while she is waiting at the abortion clinic, the janitor starts up a conversation with her. This janitor happens to be the manifestation of Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Alison's Choice doesn't quite fit in the typical "Christian" movie box, but we believe that it will be a powerful tool that can be used to save lives.

Alison's Choice was written and directed by Bruce Marchiano and it is currently in post production.

We have a great team of filmmakers working on this movie. Bruce has been an actor for a long time, and our DP is Phil Hurn, who has worked in many films, and our editor is Scott Conrad, who won an Oscar for his work on the original Rocky film. I say all that to let you know that we have a team with the experience and the tools to make this not another low budget "Christian" film, but a high quality and powerful film.

For one thing, I like it when something isn't "typically Christian" and this set up makes me think of Joan of Arcadia which I really liked a lot. Also, the editor from Rocky! C'mon. Now we're talking.

There won't be a trailer for a while but I thought I'd let everyone know about it. There is more info at the link above. And they have a Facebook page you can check out.

A Rediscovered Movie

Rose rented Rocky from the library.

You know, I don't think I have watched that since I saw it at the movies.

It was such a hit movie and the main clips (and songs) so ingrained in our popular culture that I'd forgotten what it was really like. These days one would call it a little indy movie that had big marketing dollars behind it. It was refreshingly good and the music when the two big songs weren't blasting was quietly and perfectly done with a bit of piano ...

Rose was astounded that it was so good.

A wonderful surprise.

Thank you Dallas Library ... and Andrew!

Hannah's movie-loving pal, Andrew, exhorted Rose to check out the library's movie offerings. Exhorted is exactly the right word and he was so adamant that she actually did what he told her. She told me that they had a huge number of movies.

Now, I had seen people checking out movies but they were usually older ones and, therefore, I wrongly thought that the selection was not very good. Picking up Rocky and Jaws dvds for Rose, I suddenly thought of television series that we never had enough time to finish before our two days' rental was up.

Calloo, callay! My requests for Arrested Development (season 1) and Battlestar Galactica (season 2.5) are "active" and will soon be winging their way to my nearest library.

Excitement abounds!

(Yes, I realize I am easily pleased ... which I consider to be a good thing!)