Another Oscar Best Picture winner to tick off any so-called cinephile's watchlist, like the titular no-name boxer which would become his most iconic screen image, Sylvester Stallone's career skyrockets after his wholesome, heartily-committed turn in John G. Avildsen's ROCKY, for which he also moonlights as the sole scribe, with both his script and leading performance are Oscar nominated, which catapults him among the rarefied company of Orson Welles and Charles Chaplin, the triumvirate who has yet achieved that exceptional feat in Oscar's history, although time has proven Stallone is a somewhat overachiever standing side by side with those two cinematic giants. In 1975, Philadelphia, Rocky Balboa (Stallone),a 30-year-old working-class club fighter who also earns his living as a small-time debt collector for the local loan shark Tony Gazzo (Spinell), hits the jackpot when heavyweight boxing world champion Apollo Creed (Weathers), much obliged to Rocky's sobriquet “the Italian Stallion”, fingers him for the replacement after his opponent bails out due to hand injury, for a title bout commemorating the upcoming United States Bicentennial, to vouch for that America indeed is a land of opportunity. With only 5 weeks to prepare for his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Rocky reconciles with and hires the experienced former-pugilist-turned-trainer Mickey Goldmill (Meredith), who often censures him for wasting his talent, meanwhile his relationship with Adrian (Shire ),the sister of his best friend Paulie (Young) burgeons after he charms the shrinking violet Adrian out of her shell, although in the MeToo era, Rocky's macho courting strategy is roundly problematic when he doesn't take Adrian's “no” for an answer and overpowers her with passionate kisses, the whole situation puts a mousy Adrian in a precarious position, who can easily fall victim of a horny male's non-consensual advances. As a boxing drama, Avildsen only meagerly arranges two fighting occurrences, a prologue which lays bare Rocky's plight and the final Apollo-versus-Rocky face-off. And the reason behind that might be quite obvious, the boxing set pieces look pointedly staged and all the punches are noticeably pulled, even compared to its quasi-contemporary Martin Scorsese's RAGING BULL (1980),one must admit its money shots have dated considerably. In Apollo's mind, the whole enchilada is no more than a pageant for him to strut his stuff (an elaborate show and he is the cock-a-hoop clown), since he doesn't think Rocky can cut it, but Rocky the southpaw proves him wrong by knocking him out (of his egotism) in the first round, which prompts the show to swerve into a nip-and-tuck, going-the-distance crucible to test both combatants' physical stamina and mental fortitude. In a trenchant point, whether winning or losing the match doesn't even matter to Rocky, fair and square, he earns the respect of the current champion and admiration of scores of spectators, a star-spangled underdog story as stirring as it could ever attempt to be, which cannot be completed without the equally important business of getting the girl,that message should be left permanently in the 70s. Be that as it may, ROCKY features potently affective performances from its quartet of Oscar nominees, aside from his tremendous physical exertion, Stallone is unexpectedly prolix when his Rocky smooth-talks Adrian into capitulation, and builds up a rough-around-the-edges veneer of unpretentiousness, tenderness and endearing ordinariness that will diminish in his later career. Shire, who should've run away with the golden statuette if she would compete in the supporting category (to which is where she truly belongs), potentially evokes another self-deprecating wallflower type played by Betsy Blair to perfection in another Oscar champ, Delbert Mann's MARTY (1955),her transmogrification from girlish reticence to a fully liberated woman adds considerable luster and compassion to this short-changed “leading lady”. A burly Burt Young comes on strong as the importunate, hair-trigger Paulie, a vivid rendition of someone is nearly at the end of his rope, hoping to ride on the coattail of his best friend's sudden ascension without ceremony. Last but not least, an estimable Burgess Meredith superbly lends Mickey a mixed-bag of human complexity as a has-been drinks in the last chance saloon , balancing his swallowed pride with thinly-veiled desperation in the scenes where his Mickey has to humble and insinuate himself in front of someone he habitually belittles,which also underlines that what makes ROCKY still resonate today is actually less in its rousing David-and-Goliath victory than the astute investment in its wholesome cross-section of the unprivileged, unfulfilled and undistinguished demography in the land of opportunity. referential entries: Ryan Coogler's CREED (2015, 6.8/10); Delbert Mann's MARTY (1955, 7.4/10); Martin Scorsese's RAGING BALL (1980, 8.1/10).
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