"Rocky" is Still a Stone Cold Classic

My son has been on a kick lately watching older sports movies. He told me awhile ago that he wanted to see the stuff that I used to watch when I was his age. I have shown him some of my favorites, and he has found some newer stuff, based on older sports movies, that he has gotten quite into.

One such series of movies is "Creed". He loves those movies. I've only seen the first one, which is great, and I plan on seeing the other two very soon. But since he has this newfound love of "Creed", his uncle and I decided he should see the original "Rocky".

We showed him the movie this past Saturday, which he loved, but I had a whole different experience watching this time around. I have seen all of the original "Rocky" movies a bunch. My mom loves the first one. My dad is into 2 and 3. "Rocky 4" is hilariously ridiculous, and 5 is just flat out awful. But my kid had to start at the top, and I'm glad he did. I have not seen "Rocky" in a long time, so I made sure this go round had my full attention.

This movie is so different from what I used to recall. The movie opens with a fight, and then we do not see Rocky box again until he fights Apollo Creed, at the very end of the movie. The in between is so different from my memories. I thought this movie was all boxing all the time. It most definitely is not. After the opening fight we get to see the everyday life of Rocky Balboa. We see him doing his job, which is working for a loan shark. We see his apartment. We see how he lives his life. We see him constantly hitting on Adrienne. I always thought they were already a couple when the movie kicked off. That is not the case. There's a whole courtship and everything. Rocky has to really work to get Adrienne to go on a date with him. He is very persistent, almost to the point of harassment. But this movie was made in a very different time. I'm not excusing it, but "Rocky" came out 50 years ago.

I also found that I liked the pacing of the movie. They really make you sit in this world. You really get to know everyone and everything they seem to do day to day. I also never remembered that Pauly was a flat out drunk. He drinks constantly and his mood swings come at you a mile a minute. I was always a fan of Mick growing up. I used to have to do impressions of him for my family when I was a kid. But now I really got an understanding of his character and why he talks to Rocky the way he does throughout the movie. Mick used to be a fighter. He used to have real feelings that Rocky could make it. But he also sees that he doesn't have the discipline or the knowhow.

What surprised me the most was Slyvester Stallone. I know Stallone as the guy that was in horrible 90's action movies. I did not like those movies at all. You can go check out our other podcast First Watch Rewatch and you can hear me talk about the movie "Cobra". His "Judge Dredd" movie is terrible. Any attempts he had at comedy all fell flat. But he is genuinely exceptional in "Rocky". He brings it. He acts the hell out of that role. I was all in on his performance. And throw in the fact that he wrote the movie, man the dude used to be incredibly talented. I wonder what happened along the way. When we get to that final fight, all the stuff leading up to it, it makes that final act all the better. You feel for Rocky. You see Apollo struggling because he didn't take the fight seriously enough, figuring he would steam roll Rocky. By the way, Carl Weathers is great in this movie as well. He was such a good actor and the fact that he's gone now really bums me out.

"Rocky" is a wonderful movie. They do not make movies like this anymore, and while I understand why, they should maybe go back to this slow, simmering style of a movie. That would be neat to see. And the fight choreography was second to none here. The fights looked real and I loved that about the movie. If you haven't seen "Rocky", or haven't watched it in awhile, go check it out. It is a classic for a reason. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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R.I.P. Carl Weathers

I've watched some good movies and tv shows over the weekend, but starting out the week on my blog, I have to write about the passing of Carl Weathers.

This one hurt as a fan. I have seen and enjoyed a bunch of Weathers' work. I loved "Rocky" and "Rocky 2". I was such a fan. I had never seen a movie up to that point where the hero didn't necessarily win in the end. Rocky learned a lesson. And the person who taught him that lesson was Apollo Creed, portrayed by Weathers. Apollo Creed was my introduction to Carl Weathers the actor. I was instantly hooked.

After seeing the "Rocky" movies that Weathers appeared in, I searched for his other stuff. I love the original "Predator". I didn't appreciate it when I watched it as a teen, but I love it now. He was in the James Brown video "Living in America" playing Apollo Creed. They used this in "Rocky 4", where his character gets punched to death. That was tragic. I have not yet seen "Action Jackson", but that is going to change soon. I now have to see this movie. He was in "The Comebacks", which is an awful movie, but I enjoyed his role. And recently I saw him in "The Mandalorian", where he has a major role. I wonder how they will show his character now?

But where Carl Weathers really came into my consciousness, where I really became a lifelong fan, was "Happy Gilmore". I love this movie with all of my heart. It is one of my all time favorites. I am an avid Adam Sandler fan. I'm unapologetic about my fandom for him. So when he released "Happy Gilmore", of course I watched it on opening day, and a bunch more times since then. And what has always made me come back to it, why I never get tired of it is Weathers' performance as Chubbs. He is my absolute favorite character in that movie. I have never gotten tired of watching him in this movie. I have never grown tired of the movie in general, but Weathers performance as Chubbs is the absolute cherry on top. My only other times watching Weathers was in action or serious roles, usually both combined. Even in "The Mandalorian" he is pretty serious. But in "Happy Gilmore" he is hilarious. He plays the straight man opposite Sandler and he absolutely nails it. He also has a wooden hand due to an alligator biting his hand off. When he reveals this it is one of the funniest moments in movie history for me. He puts his wooden hand up and says, "damn alligator bit my hand off!". Sandler recoils, but Weathers never breaks. He continues to tell Sandler his character's back story. From that moment on in the movie he had me hooked. When he coaches other golfers, his demeanor is so bored and uninspired. It is great. When he takes him to the mini golf course, I love that whole thing. When he grabs him from behind and starts swinging him back and forth and saying "it's all in the hips", that is gold in that movie. Everything Weathers does as Chubbs is perfect. I can watch it over and over again and find new things he does in "Happy Gilmore" that make me smile. This was where my fandom went up another notch. I love him in this movie.

Carl Weathers passing is a true bummer. He still had a bunch of work left to do, but now he is gone. Rest in Peace Carl Weathers. You will be missed. I hope to see you, the alligator and Abraham Lincoln smiling down at me at some point in my life. That would be a dream. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.