A film review by Kate O’Brien.
I sat down to watch Rocky knowing absolutely nothing about the plot aside from the fact that there would be a fight and a training montage. It felt like one of those films that even though I hadn’t seen it yet, I was aware of it. I knew Rocky. I was not expecting to enjoy the film as much as I did. I was not expecting it to be so funny, and I certainly wasn’t expecting the film to make me cry. I knew I’d enjoy it. My thoughts going into watching this film were “It’s a classic, I’m sure I’ll like it.”
Now I want to talk about why I believe that everyone should watch Rocky at least once.
You may be wondering why this is the film that I’m discussing on Valentine’s week, a fair question, as a sports drama may not necessarily inspire many to have romantic thoughts.
I’ve chosen to discuss Rocky this week because I think that the underdog figure is ultimately, and inevitably, a romantic one. I also think that the relationship between Rocky and Adrian in the film is extremely sweet. Adrian has one particular line in this film that moved me to tears, and I do also want to talk about how much I enjoyed the quiet, comfortable progression of their relationship in this film.
Rocky came out in 1976. The film was directed by John G. Avildsen.
The film was written by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the film as Rocky.
Set in Philadelphia, this film follows Rocky Balboa, a poor loan shark debt collector and fighter as he gets the opportunity to fight for the world heavyweight championship title.
Rocky was a huge success. It is a film that gained status as now it is an iconic piece in pop culture. This film launched Sylvester Stallone’s career and it also created a template for what sports movies would look like.
Please note, I am discussing the plot in this review, so there will be spoilers.
I want to discuss why I felt this film connected with me (and wider audiences), the way it did because when you think about what actually happens in the film, it is not packed with plot points. This film was the highest grossing film in 1976 and yet Rocky doesn’t even win the heavyweight championship title. Why does everyone care so much?
We all care so much because Rocky is not about winning. Yes it is a sports film, yes the fight scene is the climax of the film, but it was never about Rocky winning. Rocky himself states that he does not actually have any strong desire to win this fight, he does not care about winning the title, but he does deeply care about going the distance. He wants to finish the fight even if he loses, he wants to complete every round. He cares deeply about doing something good. He wants to be more than he is. He wants to prove that he isn’t a bum. I believe this is why his story resonates with so many people. Rocky is a quiet, shy, kind of bumbling character. He loves to box. He loves animals. He loves his family. He wants to go on a date with Adrian, the shy woman who works at the pet shop.
Rocky is a true underdog. In so many ways he is so ordinary, his wishes are so “everyday ordinary”, by this I mean that he doesn’t wish for huge, improbable things like winning a huge amount of money or having ten cars etc. He wishes for relatively normal, everyday things.
This is what makes him so endearing. We root for him because there is a relatability found in his ordinariness. We can all relate to loving our pets and maybe hoping to get a date with the person we have feelings for. These small, ordinary wins are often the things that make us feel the best, and so we root for him to have his wins.
Something that struck me as very interesting while watching is that the plot somewhat mirrors why this film turned out to be such a success. Apollo Creed is the heavyweight boxing champion and he is supposed to fight to defend his title, but his opponent has to drop out due to an injury.
Creed proves to be an excellent judge of what will bring the most publicity to the match.
He feels that giving a local, unknown boxer the opportunity to win the title will generate interest and attract massive attention from the public. He is right. He even loves Rocky’s boxing nickname, “The Italian Stallion”, stating he can picture it on film posters. Creed knows that an audience will love a rags to riches story so he proceeds with his plan, confident in the spectacle it will create.
The film is now often described as a Cinderella, rags to riches story, and in it, Creed is also profiting off of the popularity of rags to riches stories, and this struck me while I was watching it.
I find it really interesting that within the plot there is a conversation about how rags to riches stories are popular, and then the film itself became so popular because it is a rags to riches tale, and this film also paved the way for more rags to riches, motivational sports films to come about.
I find that mirroring really fascinating. It’s funny how we, the wider audience who love this film, mirror the public in the film who love the fight.
I want to talk about the appeal of the underdog, and why I would argue that the underdog is a romantic figure. There is a fantastic article entitled The Appeal of the Underdog (2008) by Nadav P. Goldschmied, David A. R. Richards, and Joseph A. Vandello, that I found when I was studying quest narratives. Underdog figures feature prominently in quest narratives. This article presents the idea that audiences root for underdogs because ‘The desire to see disadvantaged entities succeed is based on people’s strong motivation to see just outcomes.’(Vandello, Goldschmeid and Richards, 2008). The article also states that ‘A mediation analysis supported the interpretation that underdogs are seen as exerting more effort than advantaged entities.’
This is an idea that as a viewer I can get behind. It is a point that must be considered carefully, because coming from an advantaged background doesn’t automatically mean that the advantaged individual does not have the talent and won’t put in the work, however one must always acknowledge that the disadvantaged individual can have the same amount of talent if not more, and put in the same amount of work, if not more, than the advantaged person, but still not have access to the same opportunities.
In Rocky, Creed is clearly a very talented boxer, he’s trained to be where he is, he’s also got an incredible team behind him and at times it seems he cares more about the spectacle of the match than the match itself, but the point I’m making here is that no one is suggesting that Creed shouldn’t be in the ring, but we care more about Rocky being in the ring, because we feel that Rocky had a harder time getting there. Rocky would have most likely never gotten the opportunity to be in the ring if it weren’t for this media idea. It is a once in a lifetime shot, and it arguably means much more to him then it does to Creed, so therefore he is the one that we root for. Rocky is the one that we care about. For Creed, despite the title being up for grabs, this is another match, whereas for Rocky this is a chance to change his life.
Underdog figures often appear to have more heart and more passion than their counterparts, and this is why we root for them, but I would argue this is also why they’re romantic figures. It’s much more satisfying when the unlikely candidate triumphs over the person who assumed they didn’t have to exude any effort. In romantic plots where we see an “unlikely” love interest placed in opposition to the “obvious” love interest, what usually happens is that the underdog will be portrayed as more sincere, as a better listener, as a much more thoughtful and caring person than the obvious choice. The underdog will be dismissed throughout the film due to their status, and obvious choices are usually wealthier or have a higher level of formal education, but the point that connects all the dots in this trope, the idea that you will be able to spot time and time again, is the idea that the underdog may be poorer and may not be as well educated, but they have more heart. They’re kinder. They’re more genuine. The underdog having more heart makes them the true richer one.
Rooting for a poor underdog with a heart of gold is much easier and much more satisfying than rooting for a rich, cold, snob. If you want to watch a scene that puts all of these ideas into practice, watch the scene in Titanic where Jack Dawson joins the rich passengers for dinner in the first-class dining hall. He’s wearing a borrowed suit, he’s being judged by the wealthy, they’re scoffing at him while expecting him to be oh so grateful for the invitation to dine with them. In this scene, Jack gives a rousing speech about how lucky he truly is, he puts the stuffy, judgemental Cal in his place, and audiences can’t help but cheer for him in this scene. We know that he’s nicer than Cal, we know that Cal is being awful to him in this scene, we know that Cal thinks he’s nothing, so when we get to watch Jack stand up for himself and deliver a heartfelt, passionate speech, we cheer.
In Rocky, a character trait that I really enjoyed was the fact that Rocky does not get swept away in the spectacle at any point. Sometimes in stories that feature an underdog, there can be moments where they get swept up into the popular frenzy and momentarily forget about the people who have cheered them on all along. It’s easy to do because when you’re working hard for so long and you’re underappreciated, it is easy to imagine that recognition feels nice. Sometimes the fact that recognition came with strings gets overlooked until the underdog realises who has been there for them all along, and they return to their true friends. This is a common trope, although it doesn’t happen in every story. It doesn’t happen in Rocky.
Rocky is humble. He is well aware of the fact that certain people like Mickey the trainer, didn’t give a damn about him before the match. Mickey did not give Rocky the time of day before he was selected to fight Creed. He had no interest in training him despite Rocky looking up to him.
When he offers to train Rocky, he expects him to immediately accept his offer and be grateful for the attention and help, but Rocky has an incredible speech in which he asks why does Mickey have a sudden interest? Why didn’t he care before? Ultimately, Rocky does accept Mickey’s offer, but I admire his self-awareness in these scenes.
At the beginning of the film, it is made clear that Rocky has feelings for Adrian, the shy woman who works in the pet shop. Rocky always tries to make her laugh by telling her a joke. Adrian is Paulie’s sister, and Paulie and Rocky are friends so Paulie insists that he will help arrange a date between Rocky and Adrian.
I love Adrian. She is very sweet and extremely shy. I didn’t expect her character to almost move me to tears, but I really felt for her. Adrian is played by Talia Shire, and for the majority of the film, her beauty is downplayed. She’s a beautiful actress, but Adrian is a character with absolutely no self-confidence, and for most of the film she’s dressed in drab, dull clothes that wash her out and completely overwhelm her frame. She dresses like someone who wants to hide and this is apt, for Adrian desperately wants to remain unnoticed. Everyone in this film is cruel to Adrian, aside from Rocky. Her brother Paulie is so mean to her, while thinking he can order her around, and other characters mock Rocky for wanting to take her on a date. Shire’s performance is beautifully subtle, there are times very early on where it seems like she has no interest at all and the exchange is painfully awkward, until she gives the smallest smile, or a quick glance, or a small amount of eye contact, all so subtly indicating that she does like Rocky, but she has no confidence for these encounters.
As a modern viewer watching this film for the first time in 2024, it is easy to point out which aspects would be tweaked if there was ever to be a remake. I want to say now, this is not a film that needs to be remade, this is one of many that we should leave alone, however it is easy to identify which aspects would be modernised. Paulie sets up the first date between Rocky and Adrian, and comically Rocky keeps asking if Adrian knows about it. This turned out to be a fair question, because Adrian in fact, did not know about it. Paulie pressures her to go on the date, and she spends most of it quiet although the pair do bond when Rocky takes her ice skating and they have the entire ring to themselves. Later, at Rocky’s apartment, she does state that she’d like to go home, and Rocky does attempt to keep the conversation alive. Again, it is a scene that needs to be watched carefully because Shire gives off the smallest indications that she doesn’t actually want the date to end despite saying she should go. The scene ends with a tender moment. Rocky tells her that she is very beautiful, and her reply is telling. She asks him not to tease her. In my opinion, this line tells us everything we need to know about her self-esteem and why she’s so shy, she does not believe she is beautiful, and she feels vulnerable because she wants to ensure that Rocky isn’t teasing her like everyone else does, that this date wasn’t some big, elaborate joke or a lost bet. When Rocky assures her that he isn’t teasing her, she is the one who initiates a passionate kiss. After this scene, their relationship quietly grows and grows.
From this point on, Adrian gets more and more confident, and she becomes much more casual about expressing affection for Rocky. They hold hands, they sit together, and even though there is never a big announcement about the fact that they’re a couple, it is clear that their relationship has progressed. I love this. It is quiet, natural, and sweet. During a big press conference, Rocky is once again unbothered by the crowd he is attracting, he simply wants to give a shout out to Adrian, and when he, Paulie, and Adrain watch him on the tv, he’s the most excited about her seeing that he shouted her out. It is very cute. Rocky never belittles Adrian, and he never overlooks her during the training process, he never gets swept up in the glitz of it all. When Paulie disrespects her, Rocky defends her. Adrian also has the newfound confidence to defend herself, which is a fantastic moment.
Paulie is jealous of Rocky’s success, and one drunken night he picks a fight with Rocky and Adrian. In this fight, he tells Adrian that she owes him, that she is a loser. She has had enough. She screams back at him, telling him that she owes him nothing. She cooks for him, cleans for him, takes care of him, and that he always makes her feel like a loser. But she is not a loser. Hearing Adrian state that she is not a loser after everyone made her feel like one was a very poignant moment, and it did make me tear up. I loved seeing her gain self-confidence. It’s not hard to imagine that there were many times that Paulie yelled at her and talked down to her and she didn’t have the courage or self-belief to stand up to him, but now she does, and it is a brilliant moment. Adrian is an underdog too, so we easily root for her just as much as we root for Rocky.
There is a scene in which Rocky explains why Adrian means so much to him. “She’s got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps, I don’t know.” (Rocky, 1976). I love this line. It is so simple, it is so sweet, it perfectly sums up how two people can do so much for each other.
So moving to the end of the film. The fight scene is big. There’s a huge crowd, the event is a success before it has even begun. Creed is a true showman, and Rocky is ready to go the distance. I love that Rocky doesn’t win. This may sound odd, but if he wins then I think the point about how it was never about winning would be lost. Rocky set a personal goal. He wanted to go the distance and he did. He lasted all fifteen rounds, despite injuries, despite tiredness, he goes the distance, and he gets some good punches in there too, gaining Creed’s respect. He may not have won the fight, but he achieved his own personal goal, so he did win. Winning can be a very personal thing, and it can mean different things to different people. Much like how quests are about the journey rather than the final destination, I think that a major theme of Rocky is that just because you didn’t win the prize, that doesn’t mean you didn’t win at all.
Winning, losing, Rocky doesn’t care. The film ends with him screaming for Adrian. He’s gone the distance, the crowd is going wild, everyone is cheering, there are cameras in his face. He just wants Adrian. He’s screaming for her, she’s trying to get to him through the chaos. Finally the pair reunite and the film ends with Adrian and Rocky telling each other “I love you.”
It was the perfect ending. He went the distance, he earned a life changing amount of money, and he got the girl. Rocky won.
I would highly recommend Rocky if you haven’t seen it. It is funny, poignant, and it tells a story about perseverance and gaining confidence. The fight and the boxing are the perfect backdrop to all of the personal development that we see play out on screen. We see a lovable underdog rise to a challenge and go the distance alongside a shy woman gaining her own voice. We watch them fill gaps, and we cheer for them as they do.
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