Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Triumphant, inspiring showbiz story has mature moments.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
I Play Rocky
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In I PLAY ROCKY, Mike Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) is a struggling actor in New York City in the 1970s. On the verge of becoming unhoused, he takes a part in a softcore adult film and works at a fish market and a movie theater. It's at the theater that he meets Sasha (AnnaSophia Robb), whom he starts dating. She encourages Stallone to use his real first name, Sylvester, and to start writing his own scripts. They move to Los Angeles, and Stallone meets producers Robert Chartoff (Toby Kebbell) and Irwin Winkler (P. J. Byrne). And, after seeing Muhammad Ali's fight against underdog Chuck Wepner on TV in a bar, Stallone is inspired. He writes the screenplay for Rocky in a fever, completing it in just a few days. Chartoff and Winkler love the script but are shocked when Stallone asks to play the lead role himself. Negotiations begin, but Stallone refuses to budge. When the movie goes into production with a tiny budget, they have zero room for failure, as a cynical United Artists executive (Tracy Letts) is champing at the bit to shut them down.
Is It Any Good?
Sure, it's an awards-bait biopic, but director Peter Farrelly's drama has a great true story at its center, a rare and genuinely inspiring example of the idealized American Dream at its best. The tale of I Play Rocky is probably at least in part already known to fans of the Rocky movies, which debuted in 1976 and spawned many sequels (including the Creed movies). Yet Farrelly and screenwriter Peter Gamble add details that make it even more gripping and powerful than a casual telling could. Even Stallone's furious writing session is somehow tense and cinematic.
It almost doesn't even feel like you're watching actors here—it's more like you're using a time machine, looking at the actual Stallone do his thing. Ippolito is a dead ringer for Sly, as are Stephan James as Carl Weathers and Kiki Seto as Talia Shire. And Matt Dillon gives a truly great performance Stallone's emotionally abusive father; the movie carefully details their complex relationship and how it might have helped fuel Stallone's drive for success. The suspenseful section in which Rocky is filmed under all-but-impossible time and budget constraints is lovingly detailed, down to the moment in which a vendor tosses Rocky an apple while he's running. I Play Rocky is an absolute thrill, and the climactic moment—the world premiere about which Stallone is so nervous that he leaves the theater—is as jubilant as the fight in the original movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violent moments in I Play Rocky. How do they compare to what you might see in an action movie? Which has more impact on you? Why do you think that is?
How do the characters demonstrate perseverance? Why is that an important character strength?
Do you consider Sylvester Stallone a role model, as depicted in this story? Why, or why not? How accurate do you think it is to how he is in real life?
What do you think are Stallone's motivations in making Rocky? Is he after celebrity? Something different/more?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 6, 2026
- Cast : Anthony Ippolito , AnnaSophia Robb , Matt Dillon
- Director : Peter Farrelly
- Studio : Amazon MGM Studios
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Dads ) , History ( Biopic ) , Sports ( Boxing )
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Run time : 128 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong language, brief sexual material, and smoking
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : November 5, 2026
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