I PLAY ROCKY
Starring: Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, Matt Dillon, Stephan James, and Kiki Seto
Director: Peter Farrelly
ADRIANO
How worthwhile is a movie that enters one ear and out the other the second it’s over? I Play Rocky is as inoffensive as it gets. It’s got a solid Sylvester Stallone impression from Anthony Ippolito, and it’s competently put together by director Peter Farrelly. The first half is enjoyable. It’s where most of the laughs and interesting moments come from. But the back half entered a repetition that lacked any stakes, resulting in a finale that was too toothless and abrupt to be the big uplifting success it aimed for. Just an IMDB trivia page in movie form.
NICK
Although I enjoy movies about making movies, it’s actually the process of getting the movie made that’s the most interesting part of I Play Rocky. If you’re a Sylvester Stallone fan, there's a lot of common knowledge here. But you don’t come to this movie for a history lesson, you come to be transported back in time and to witness the performance of Anthony Ippolito. Throughout the years, many have done a Stallone impression, but Ippolito personifies him to the point it feels like vintage footage of Sly on screen. Sure, I Play Rocky is a crowd pleaser, but that's not always a bad thing.
QUENTIN
Fans of Sylvester Stallone, Rocky, and movies about movies should be enamored with I Play Rocky. Okay, so maybe there are no deeper insights in Stallone (Anthony Ippolito in a star-making performance). And maybe you won’t learn anything you didn’t already know. I mean, this oft-told story is what it is. But, honestly, who cares? This is the type of crowd-pleasing, popcorn entertainment that movie theaters are made for, and it made me want to rewatch the entire Rocky franchise immediately. What bigger compliment can there be? As for Ippolito, it should do for him what Elvis did for Austin Butler.
This film was reviewed by Adriano, Nick, and Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2026 Zurich Film Festival, respectively.