I Play Rocky Review: Sylvester Stallone Origin Story Is As Uplifting As Rocky [TIFF]

I Play Rocky is an exceptionally inspirational, soulful, crowd-pleasing underdog story powered by a career-defining performance and tremendous heart.

Published Sep 13, 2026, 6:50 AM EDT

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That Rocky is one of the great underdog stories is no coincidence – the iconic sports drama mirrors the behind-the-scenes story of its making surprisingly closely. So closely, in fact, that dramatizing the real-life struggle itself gets nearly the same results. In the most resounding of ways, I Play Rocky captures the soulful, crowd-pleasing triumph of the 1976 classic. It's easily one of the year's best movies to date, and already among the best movies about movie-making of all time.

Making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I Play Rocky chronicles Sylvester Stallone’s rocky journey (pun intended) to get his breakout film made in the 1970s. Beginning as Stallone navigates failed auditions and dead-end jobs in his mid-twenties, the story tracks the aspiring actor as he migrates to Los Angeles and embarks on a quest to make a movie of his own.

Anthony Ippolito Transforms Into Sylvester Stallone

It is difficult to comment on I Play Rocky in any meaningful way without starting with Anthony Ippolito's career-defining turn. From the very first moments of the movie until the credits roll, Ippolito transforms into Sylvester Stallone in every sense of the word. On a number of occasions, he is indistinguishable from Stallone himself, such is the actor’s ability to so seamlessly immerse the audience in his portrayal as Sly. Ippolito goes far beyond an imitation; when it comes to faithful, precise evocations of real-life people, he's on the same level as Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, and Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn.

I Play Rocky makes for exceptionally inspirational viewing – so much so that, as an uplifting story, it may actually rival the original Rocky.

While I Play Rocky is firmly Ippolito's vehicle to shine, he is supported by an outstanding ensemble cast across the board. AnnaSophia Robb plays Stallone’s girlfriend, Sasha Czack, with tenderness, and shares amazing romantic chemistry with Ippolito. P.J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell afford substantial heartfelt arcs of their own to Rocky producers Irvin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, respectively, while Jay Duplass arrives in the second act with bite and a perfect encapsulation of industry pragmatism as Rocky director John Avildsen. Stephan James also mirrors Ippolito in uncannily replicating a real person whose screen presence audiences know so well, bringing the charisma, confidence, and stature of the late Carl Weathers to glorious life.

I Play Rocky Rivals Rocky In The Inspiration Department

I Play Rocky makes for exceptionally inspirational viewing – so much so that, as an uplifting story, it may actually rival the original Rocky.

Over the course of the film, Stallone faces hardship after hardship, yet does not waver on his commitment to actualize his dream and become an actor. He is derided for his speech, dismissed for his lack of traditional movie-star looks, and perpetually underestimated by just about everyone around him (with the exception of his loving girlfriend). Anyone who knows even the slightest bit about who Sylvester Stallone is knows what this movie's protagonist is destined for, but this does not stop I Play Rocky from so effectively making the audience invest in the aspiring actor’s journey. Every up and down that he experiences is felt so palpably.

It goes without saying, then, that I Play Rocky is bursting at the seams with heart, and is the definition of a tear-jerking crowd-pleaser. Underdog tales are formulaic by necessity, and director Peter Farrelly plays it safe by seldom diverting too much from formula, and, instead, keeping the story as sanitized and family-appropriate as possible.

But this hardly stops Farrelly from nailing just about every emotional moment he strives for. It should be no surprise that the director of Green Book, another extremely moving watch, has his finger firmly on the pulse of what activates jubilation, relief, disappointment, and a myriad of other emotions in audiences, but the Academy Award-winning filmmaker once again flexes these muscles here to magnificent results.

I Play Rocky Finds Humor In The Frenzy And Unpredictability Of Moviemaking

There are also plenty of laughs to be had along the way – again, no surprise, given Farrelly’s decades-long experience making comedies. Much of the film’s humor comes from a peek behind the curtain of what making a movie actually looks like. The frenzy of production, absurdity of decision-making, and sheer unpredictability of it all gives the director great comedic material to work with, which he takes full advantage of.

The likes of The Disaster Artist and Ed Wood have effectively turned the productions of famous movies into compelling stories of their own, but it is not an exaggeration to say that I Play Rocky may be the best narrative feature about the making of a specific film ever.

A rather abrupt ending and some of the aforementioned conventionality aside, I Play Rocky is a difficult movie to find flaws in. Anthony Ippolito produces the kind of awards-worthy performance that actors make careers out of; there is more heart and humor in a single scene than most movies possess in their total runtime; and, perhaps most surprising of all, Farrelly creates a film that somehow matches the inspiration fostered by watching Rocky. Putting those together in a single package can only result in one of the best movies of the year.

I Play Rocky premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film is scheduled for a limited US theatrical release on November 6, followed by a nationwide release on November 20.

I Play Rocky

9/10