My Favorite Movies – Rocky (1976)

By Tanner Smith

It’s kind of ironic that a small film about “going the distance” surpasses “the distance.” Rocky is about a guy who’s given a shot to show the world what he’s all about next to the best in his field, and while he doesn’t win (in fact, he barely survives), he gains respect, self-assurance, and the love of his life.

That guy was a boxer named Rocky Balboa, and he was portrayed by the film’s screenwriter Sylvester Stallone, who himself had something to prove. The studio bought Stallone’s script, but they didn’t have faith in a film with Stallone as the lead. Stallone, however, got the last laugh–everyone fell in love with “Rocky.” Critics and audiences adored it, everyone spread the word around resulting in box office success, and as if all that wasn’t enough, it even triumphed at the Academy Awards with the top honor of Best Picture.

Yeah…I’d say it did more than go the distance! That sort of goes against the initial purpose of “Rocky,” but who am I to complain? It’s awesome!

“Rocky” is basically a fairy tale about a boxing bottomfeeder, Rocky Balboa aka The Italian Stallion, who fights (mostly for money) because he has trouble with everything else. That’s especially true when he tries to court the shy Adrian (Talia Shire), but he keeps trying his best, and soon enough, his efforts win her affections. When the World Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), handpicks this “Italian Stallion” as his opponent for a big New Year’s match. Suddenly, this no-name boxer has a shot at the title. But winning the fight isn’t the first thing on Rocky’s mind–the most important thing to him is that he shows Apollo and the large crowd that he can go the distance.

There’s a time when a lot of us can relate to Rocky. We often think about how great it would be if we won something that would gain respect from most people. But sometimes, we also realize that it’s less about winning than it is about trying. And in the end, what’s more important is the people in our lives who are with us during this particular challenge–in this case, it’s Adrian for Rocky, which makes the final scene all the more heartwarming. Rocky doesn’t win the fight, but he does win Adrian’s heart.

My favorite scene: I guess I have to pick a Rocky-Adrian moment here and I know everyone loves the ice-skating scene between Rocky and Adrian–it is a great scene, but my personal favorite between the two characters is their first kiss soon after.

There’s hardly anything I can say about “Rocky” that hasn’t been said by everyone else already. Stallone’s Rocky is an appealing character, the love story between Rocky and Adrian is great, the sports-film cliches feel fresh in this realistic setting, the supporting cast is great, the theme song “Gonna Fly Now” is iconic, et cetera and so on. It’s a great film and a feel-good classic, and I love watching it.

Now, what about the sequels? Well…join me in the next post.