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"ROCKY" (1976) (Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire) (PG) QUICK TAKE: Drama: A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a shot at the big time when the heavyweight champion of the world chooses him for a match with the title at stake. PLOT: In his Philadelphia neighborhood, in the gym he trains at, in the smallish boxing match we see him in, Rocky Balboa (SYLVESTER STALLONE) just exists. Nothing big in his world. He makes a little money from boxing and in order to keep on living without starving, he also works as a bill collector for a loan shark named Gazzo. Beyond that, he also tries to make a connection with the shy Adrian (TALIA SHIRE), who works at a pet store where he bought his turtles, Cuff and Link, and always says hello to a big dog named Butkus. Adrian's brother Paulie (BURT YOUNG) hangs out with him, always asking him to see about getting him some work with Gazzo. For Rocky, this is life. It's what there is. It's that simple. But then, Apollo Creed (CARL WEATHERS), the heavyweight champion of the world seeking a replacement opponent for a boxer that had to bow out, chooses Rocky to fight him for the title, and life becomes bigger. Suddenly, Mickey (BURGESS MEREDITH), the owner of the gym, comes to him to see if he could use some help training for the fight, even though he hasn't given him much attention in 10 years to develop him as a boxer. And Rocky is thrust into the media spotlight for a fight that few would believe could happen, but it's happening for Rocky, just an average guy. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Any boxing fans will definitely want to see this. So will fans of Sylvester Stallone and any of the other actors here, as well as anyone perhaps wondering where the original "underdog" story came from. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG No official reason is given, but it's likely for boxing-related violence and brief sexually-related dialogue. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: SYLVESTER STALLONE plays Rocky Balboa, a boxer in Philadelphia who, besides earning a little money from the bouts he's in, is also a collector for a loan shark. His life is suddenly made bigger when he's chosen by the heavyweight champion of the world to be his opponent in a major match. He smokes heavily. TALIA SHIRE plays Adrian, a perpetually shy girl who works at a pet store, who Rocky tries to attract. BURT YOUNG plays Paulie, Adrian's verbally abusive brother, who seems to be the cause of Adrian's shyness. He hangs out with Rocky, badgering him about talking to his loan shark boss about getting a job for him, and has much to say about his own failures in life. He drinks, and also appears drunk in one scene. CARL WEATHERS plays Apollo Creed, the heavyweight champion of the world in boxing, who comes to Philadelphia to defend his title, but his opponent bows out and he searches for a new one, deciding to go for an unknown, someone who can inspire the people, especially with the Bicentennial going on. He chooses Rocky because he likes his nickname, "The Italian Stallion." He stereotypes Rocky's Italian heritage during a press conference. BURGESS MEREDITH plays Mickey, the owner of the gym Rocky has been at for 10 years, who believes Rocky can be a good fighter, but doesn't see the potential in him. After Rocky is chosen by Apollo Creed as his opponent, Mickey comes to Rocky, offering his services as a trainer. He engages in prejudice twice. THAYER DAVID plays Jergens, the boxing promoter who organized the original fight between Apollo Creed and another opponent, but has no idea whom to pit Apollo against after that opponent drops out. Apollo figures it out and Jergens takes to the idea enthusiastically. JOE SPINELL plays Gazzo, a loan shark whom Rocky works for as a collector, and we see him in action. Gazzo doesn't like how Rocky isn't upholding his reputation well, especially when Rocky's latest assignment didn't produce any broken thumbs. JODI LETIZIA plays Marie, a young girl with a bad attitude whom Rocky tries to give advice to, but to no avail. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated drama. Profanity consists of a mild amount of expletives, while some colorful phrases are also uttered, and sexually related dialogue is present. Standard boxing violence is present in the ring (with resultant bloodiness), in the gym, and the training of the main character. Some of those moments may be tempting for kids to imitate. Various bad attitudes are present, while characters drink and/or smoke (one character does a lot of the latter, while another appears drunk in a scene). Tense family material includes an adult brother being verbally abusive toward his sister and scaring her when he begins breaking things in the house. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE A vendor at the Balboa-Rico fight is heard calling out, "Get your beer, cold beer here. Get your beer. Cold beer, cold beer!" After the fight, Spider Rico is seen lying down, drinking a beer. The singer of the group around the trash can takes a bottle from a guy next to him and holds it between his legs. Rocky arrives, takes the bottle from someone and drinks from it. In his apartment, Rocky takes a beer bottle off the top of his fridge, shakes it from the bottom to see if there's any left, then drinks from it. Rocky carries a passed-out drunk over his shoulders into the Lucky Seven Tavern. He places the drunk next to a man named Lefty at a booth, and a beer bottle and a glass sit on the table in front of Lefty. A few beer bottles sit on the bar of the tavern, a woman holds a drink in a glass, and a few bottles of alcohol are also seen. In the bathroom of the bar, Rocky pours some beer from a beer bottle into a glass and puts it on the paper towel holder for Paulie, who takes the glass and drinks from it. Rocky asks for a beer from the bartender and Paulie takes it and walks out. The bartender calls after Paulie, but Rocky indicates to the guy that he'll pay for it. The bartender pours some alcohol into a shot glass for himself. A teen asks Rocky, "Hey Rocky, how about a bottle?" Rocky replies, "No wine, man." The kid says, "Come on, just a little," and Marie shouts, "Buy us some Thunderbird, man!" Paulie drinks from a booze bottle outside his block. Paulie holds a beer can. Paulie drinks from a beer can. Adrian asks Paulie, "Want me to get you a beer, Paulie?" Paulie yells at Adrian and Rocky, then goes rooting around off-screen in the kitchen for pretzels and beer and, finding no beer, yells, "Hey we ain't got any beer? I thought you were supposed to pick up some beer." Rocky opens a beer bottle and Mickey says to him, just before he drinks, "I wanna make a suggestion; don't drink that piss before a fight. It's no good for you." Paulie drinks from a booze bottle while talking and walking past hanging cuts of meat in a meat freezer with Rocky. He also drinks from the bottle after Rocky leaves the meat freezer. Paulie drinks from his booze bottle as Rocky argues with him about taking advantage of the situation, having a news crew come to the meat freezer to shoot footage of his training regimen. Paulie arrives home drunk, nearly falling over a small fence. The argument he has with Rocky and Adrian, and then smashing things with a bat, likely stems from him being drunk, bringing up long-festering resentment. A shot is seen of the patrons of a local bar, watching the introduction to the match, holding beer bottles, beer cans, glasses, and some smoking. One patron is seen drinking from a beer bottle. BLOOD/GROSS STUFF During the Balboa-Rico match, Rocky's cormerman gives him some water. He then spits it out into an off-camera bucket. We see blood on the towel around Rocky's shoulders. After the fight, we see a bruise above Rico's right eyebrow, or what will become a bruise, and one on his left cheek, under his eye. We see a line of blood near Rocky's right eye. Outside the pet store during the day, and then inside, Rocky is seen with a small bandage on his face, and a bruise near his right eye. Mickey spits. Mickey tells Rocky of a guy he fought who put a nail in his glove. "He punched so many holes in my face, you know, I had this spit shooting out of my cheeks." Rocky tells Paulie that he's going home and that it's cold in the meat freezer. Paulie replies, angrily, "Cold in here? It is cold in here! It stinks in here, and you stink!" all while punching a large hanging cut of meat three times. Rocky walks back over to him, pushes him back a little, then begins punching the meat, and we see blood on his fingers from the meat. We also see Rocky doing the same thing during the TV interview, where blood is seen as well, and during the "Gonna Fly Now" training montage. During the Balboa-Creed bout: Rocky gets up on the ropes at one point early in the match, and blood is seen on his lower lip. Rocky is seen with a trail of blood down the left side of the face. He's seen not long after with blood down his chin and neck. Apollo is seen with an eye nearly swollen shut. Rocky is seen with blood near his right eye. A cornerman cuts open Rocky's left eye so he can see, and blood spurts over the bridge of his nose and down the left side of his face. Apollo's cornerman says to him, "You're bleeding inside, champ. I'm gonna stop the fight." One of the color commentators says about Apollo, "Look at the blood coming out of his mouth!" and the other commentator says, "Oh he's spitting up blood now," though we don't see it. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE A woman calls out at Rocky, "You're a bum. You're a bum, you know that? You're a bum." Gazzo's driver asks Rocky, "Did you get the license number?" and Rocky asks, "Of what?" The guy says, "The truck that run over your face." After Gazzo is done talking to Rocky, Gazzo's driver says to Rocky, "So long meat bag." Rocky yells after him, "I should've broke your thumbs!" The janitor of the gym asks Rocky outside, "Shouldn't you take a rest?" Rocky replies, "No, my back is hurt." "Your back is hurt?" the janitor asks, and Rocky replies, "My back is hurt. You deaf?" He goes inside and the janitor says to no one, "No, I'm short." Rocky says to Mickey, "Hey Mick," and he snaps back, "Shut up!" Paulie says to Rocky about Adrian that he can do better than her. He also says that she's "a freakin' loser. Sometimes she gets me so crazy, I could split her head with a razor." He also says to Rocky, "Adrian ain't sharp. Adrian's a loser. She's pushing 30 freaking years old, and if she don't watch out, she's gonna end up dying alone." Rocky says to him, "I'm 30 myself," and Paulie replies, "And you're gonna end up dying alone." Rocky replies, "Hey I don't see no crowd around you neither." Paulie repeatedly says to Rocky that he'd like to kill whoever broke the bathroom mirror. A teenager asks Rocky, "Hey Rocky, how about a bottle?" Rocky replies, "No wine, man." The kid says, "Come on, just a little," and Marie shouts, "Buy us some Thunderbird, man!" One of the guys says to Rocky, "Get lost creep," and Marie says to him, "Screw you, yo-yo." Rocky asks Marie, "These guys teach you to talk like that?" and Marie replies, "Stuff it, man." Rocky grabs her arm, pulls her down to the sidewalk and says, "Don't you never say that to me." One of the kids yells after Rocky as he walks away with Marie, "You stink up the neighborhood!" Marie takes a cigarette out of a jacket pocket and puts it in her mouth, but Rocky takes it away from her, and she's hostile about it. Marie says to Rocky after she gets up the steps to her house, "Screw you, creep-o!" and raises a fist. Gazzo's driver says to Rocky about Adrian, "I hear she's retarded." Rocky says to him, "She ain't retarded. She's shy, you know?" Gazzo's driver says to him, "Tell you what to do. Take her to the zoo. I hear retards like the zoo." Rocky says to Gazzo, "Hey, this bum gotta say that?" and he and the driver argue and hurl insults at each other. Paulie runs after Adrian who's closed the door to the other room and says to her, "Hey, I want you out of here instamatically! I'm sick of seeing you hanging around like a freaking spider." He also says to her through the door, "I'm tired of you being a loser." Later, he takes Adrian's turkey from the oven, throws it out the door and says, "You want the bird? Go in the alley and eat the bird!" He yells after her as she runs into the other room, "I want you out of here! Get out of the house! Go out and enjoy your freaking life!" Mickey yells after Rocky about something he just said that Rocky repeated, "I said that before, you dumb Dago!" Apollo asks Rocky on TV if he's Italian, and when Rocky answers, "Yeah, I'm Italian," a reporter asks, "Well now what does that mean?" Apollo replies, "That means, if he can't fight, I'll bet he can cook." Paulie says to Rocky, "Without such good people around to help you, you don't have such a good chance." Adrian replies, "Einstein flunked out of school twice." In a mocking voice, Paulie says, "That so?" Adrian asks Paulie, "Want me to get you a beer, Paulie?" and Paulie snaps back, "Hey, you looking to do a good deed? Keep out of my freakin' life!" Mickey says to Rocky about his boxing experience, "You should have seen me when I knocked that guinea Russo out of the ring. Out of the g*ddamn ring, I tell you." Paulie asks Rocky about Adrian, "You ballin' her?" Rocky hits Paulie on the shoulder and says, "Hey. You don't talk dirty about your sister." Paulie asks Rocky, "Are you screwin' my sister?" Rocky tells Paulie that he's going home and that it's cold in the meat freezer. Paulie replies, angrily, "Cold in here? It is cold in here! It stinks in here, and you stink!" A girl asks Rocky for his autograph and Mickey grabs the autograph book and yells, "Get out of here! Don't you ever interrupt me while I'm conductin' business. Move your little chicken asses out." Paulie tells Rocky to get out of his house, and when Adrian objects, he demands that they both get out. Paulie takes up a baseball bat and says to Rocky, "I don't want you messin' her," then says to Adrian, "And I don't raise you to go with this scum bum." Rocky attempts to get up and Paulie yells, "Yeah? Come on! You wanna hit on me? Come on! I'll break both your arms so they don't work for you." Paulie smashes a lamp off a table with the bat, then a side table. He then smashes a silver tea set and yells at Adrian, "You're such a loser! I don't get married because of you! You can't live by yourself!" He hits the tea set again with the bat. After he rails on about Adrian owing him, Adrian grabs Paulie and yells at him, "What do I owe you?" and details all that she does for him. Paulie then says to Adrian, "You're busted! You're not a virgin! You let a man take down your pants!" Then Rocky goes over to Paulie quickly and shoves him down. Apollo's cornerman says to him about Rocky, "Finish this bum, and let's go home." FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Blood/Gross Stuff" and "Violence" could be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Whore," "You ballin' her?" "Are you screwin' my sister?" "You're busted! You're not a virgin! You let a man take down your pants!" "You lay off that pet shop dame. Women weaken legs," "You're fighting like a bum," "Who the hell cares?" "You're a bum," "Shut up!" "Don't get mental, man," "Come on, let's get out of this stink," "Be a thinker, not a stinker," "Stick that up your business," "A freakin' loser," "Get lost creep," "Screw you, yo-yo," "Stuff it, man," "You stink up the neighborhood!" "Boom!" "Bing!" "Screw you, creep-o," "I hear she's retarded," "I hear retards like the zoo," "Hey, I want you out of here instamatically! I'm sick of seeing you hanging around like a freaking spider," "I'm tired of you being a loser," "Go out and enjoy your freaking life!" "You dumb Dago!" "Hey, you looking to do a good deed? Keep out of my freakin' life!" "Guinea," "It stinks in here, and you stink!" "Move your little chicken asses out," "Scum bum," "Damn," "Kiss my ass!" "Hey, yo," "Get a job, you bum!" "What the hell are those?" "It stinks!" "Baby!" "Like the guy says, you're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder," "I want you!" "Finish this bum, and let's go home" and "You, chump." The boxing action, from training to the matches, may be enticing for some to imitate. The inside of a trash can is seen on fire outside, so those around it can stay warm. Gazzo's driver asks Rocky, "Did you get the license number?" and Rocky asks, "Of what?" The guy says, "The truck that run over your face." After Gazzo is done talking to Rocky, Gazzo's driver says to Rocky, "So long meat bag." Rocky yells after him, "I should've broke your thumbs!" Rocky does a Tarzan yell while he's with Butkus, a big dog. Rocky occasionally bounces a rubber ball while he walks down streets and sidewalks. Rocky cracks five eggs into a glass and drinks it all. Rocky calls out for Adrian, letting out a long "Adriaaaaaan," a few times. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 slang terms for sex ("ballin'" and "screwin'"), 5 hells, 4 damns, 3 asses, 1 crap, 1 S.O.B., 2 uses of "G*ddamn," and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "Oh, God." SEX/NUDITY As would be expected in boxing, Rocky, Apollo Creed, Spider Rico, and other boxers appear shirtless, in the gym, in matches, and before and after fights. Apollo also is seen shirtless in an artist's rendering on a poster, as well as on a vertically-hanging banner in the arena, which Rocky has as well, bare-chested too, on his side of the ring. There's a poster of Rocky Marciano on a wall in Rocky's apartment, shirtless with boxing gloves and shorts on. Rocky talks to Marie about a girl he knew who had a dirty mouth, like hers, and says, "I gotta use a bad word. Whore. You understand? Whore. See? You use dirty words, and maybe you end up becoming a whore." Marie replies, "Come on, Rocky. I'm 12," and he answers, "Hey that don't matter you're 12. That don't matter. You don't really have to be one. Just act like one and that's it." Rocky also imagines 20 years later what people might say about Marie if she keeps up as she is and he makes up a dialogue that includes someone saying, "She's the little whore who hung down at the Atomic Hoagie Shop." As they get to her apartment, Marie says to Rocky, "I won't," and Rocky replies, "What was I gonna say?" "You hope I don't keep acting like a whore or I'll turn into one, right?" Rocky and Adrian kiss near the door of his apartment and they gradually sink down. Rocky's blue underwear is seen as he gets up from his bed. Paulie asks Rocky about Adrian, "You ballin' her?" Rocky hits Paulie on the shoulder and says, "Hey. You don't talk dirty about your sister." Paulie asks Rocky, "Are you screwin' my sister?" Adrian leans into Rocky between his legs and kisses him, but Rocky stops her, saying, "Hey. Hey come on. No foolin' around, alright? I'm tired." Adrian kisses him again, and he says, "Hey Adrian, I'm serious now. There's no foolin' around during training, you understand? I wanna stay strong." Mickey says to Rocky, "Hey listen kid. You, you lay off that pet shop dame. Women weaken legs." Rocky replies, "Yeah, but I really like this girl. You know?" Mickey yells, "Then let her train ya!" Rocky replies, "Okay, no more foolin' around." Paulie says to Adrian, "You're busted! You're not a virgin! You let a man take down your pants!" A member of Apollo's entourage watches TV with his shirt open, showing his chest. SMOKING Rocky smokes at least 23 times, while Jergens, the boxing promoter, smokes a cigar on two occasions, and Paulie is seen with a cigar in his mouth during the main bout. Other people also smoke in various scenes. Marie takes a cigarette out of a jacket pocket and puts it in her mouth, but Rocky takes it away from her, and she's hostile about it. Gazzo says to Rocky, "Hey, wait a minute," and takes the cigarette out of Rocky's mouth, saying, "You're in training, huh? Come on." TENSE FAMILY SCENES Paulie runs after Adrian who's gone into the other room and closed the door, and says to her, "Hey, I want you out of here instamatically! I'm sick of seeing you hanging around like a freaking spider." He also says to her through the door, "I'm tired of you being a loser." He also takes Adrian's turkey from the oven, throws it out the door and says to her, "You want the bird? Go in the alley and eat the bird!" He yells after her as she runs into the other room, "I want you out of here! Get out of the house! Go out and enjoy your freaking life!" Adrian asks Paulie, "Want me to get you a beer, Paulie?" and Paulie snaps back, "Hey, you looking to do a good deed? Keep out of my freakin' life!" He then yells at Adrian and Rocky some more, and goes rooting in the kitchen off-screen for beer and pretzels. Paulie tells Rocky to get out of his house, and when Adrian objects, he demands that they both get out. Paulie takes up a baseball bat and says to Rocky, "I don't want you messin' her," then says to Adrian, "And I don't raise you to go with this scum bum." Rocky attempts to get up and Paulie yells, "Yeah? Come on! You wanna hit on me? Come on! I'll break both your arms so they don't work for you." Paulie smashes a lamp off a table with the bat, then a side table. He then smashes a silver tea set and yells at Adrian, "You're such a loser! I don't get married because of you! You can't live by yourself!" He hits the tea set again with the bat. After he rails on about Adrian owing him, Adrian grabs Paulie and yells at him, "What do I owe you?" and details all that she does for him. Paulie then says to Adrian, "You're busted! You're not a virgin! You let a man take down your pants!" Then Rocky goes over to Paulie quickly and shoves him down. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Boxing, both in a small setting, and in an arena with TV commentators, a huge crowd, and bigger expectations, though common desires in both. The crowd that watches Rocky fight Spider Rico may be drinking and smoking cigars during it, but they still want to see some action and blood, just like the bigger crowd. Paulie complains about Adrian living with him being the thing that prevented him from getting married. Mickey doesn't even reach out to help Rocky until Rocky is selected by Apollo Creed to battle for the title, and even then, in Rocky's apartment, he tries to explain himself, why now he's offered his services and not 10 years ago, as Rocky states. The Philadelphia neighborhood Rocky lives in, which seems to have been forgotten by the city, looking run-down, with evening light shining where it's able. "Rocky" was released in the midst of a decade that's claimed by many to have been the greatest decade for the movies, with such films as "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," "Chinatown," "Jaws," "National Lampoon's Animal House," "Annie Hall," and still more. Rocky Balboa was Sylvester Stallone's first starring role, after a few years of brief appearances in other films and co-starring roles in "The Lords of Flatbush," and "Death Race 2000." The film's theme, of the possibility of rising up from what one is (in Rocky's case, just living in that Philadelphia neighborhood and making a little money boxing) and reaching the full potential of what one can do if the drive is there. VIOLENCE We see the standard boxing blows in the ring, as Rocky fights Spider Rico at the beginning, and Apollo Creed in the climactic fight, as well as Rocky sparring in the gym, hitting punching bags, and also punching hanging cuts of meat in a meat freezer. Rocky hits a stick against the back of a dock vehicle being driven by a guy who owes Gazzo money, then grabs the guy after he gets off and tries to run. Gazzo pushes Rocky lightly, asking him if he understands to do what he tells him to do. Rocky takes a fire extinguisher off a wall column, and breaks a lock off a locker he thinks is his. Rocky punches his bathroom door twice out of anger. He punches it again a few seconds later. Rocky tells Paulie that he's going home and that it's cold in the meat freezer. Paulie replies, angrily, "Cold in here? It is cold in here! It stinks in here, and you stink!" all while punching a large hanging cut of meat three times. Rocky walks back over to him, pushes him back a little, then begins punching the meat. Rocky pushes Paulie against a brick wall outside the meat freezer. Paulie tells Rocky to get out of his house, and when Adrian objects, he demands that they both get out. Paulie takes up a baseball bat and says to Rocky, "I don't want you messin' her," then says to Adrian, "And I don't raise you to go with this scum bum." Rocky attempts to get up and Paulie yells, "Yeah? Come on! You wanna hit on me? Come on! I'll break both your arms so they don't work for you." Paulie smashes a lamp off a table with the bat, then a side table. He then smashes a silver tea set and yells at Adrian, "You're such a loser! I don't get married because of you! You can't live by yourself!" He hits the tea set again with the bat. After he rails on about Adrian owing him, Adrian grabs Paulie and yells at him, "What do I owe you?" and details all that she does for him. Paulie then says to Adrian, "You're busted! You're not a virgin! You let a man take down your pants!" Then Rocky goes over to Paulie quickly and shoves him down. Reviewed off DVD / Posted September 17, 2010