Rocky

Directed by: John G. Avildsen

Written by: Sylvester Stallone










I am a total sucker for this movie.  There, I've said it.  I love it, and it's one of my favorite movies.

Frankly, I don't feel that it's given enough credit.  Rather, it's often passed off as insincere or kitschy.  In fact, it's the opposite.

Sure, the ending is a bit corny in retrospect, but it's also completely unexpected (especially the first time you see it).  The film does a masterful job of bait-and-switch.  The climax of the film is Rocky's big fight against Apollo Creed (Weathers), but in the end the fight doesn't matter.  In fact, the result of the big match is revealed and pass-over so quickly as to be irrelevant.  That's because, amazingly, the last moment reveals that the movie wasn't about boxing at all (at least, not in the way most sports movies are designed).  Rather, boxing is a metaphor for the different parts of the characters' lives.  Sure, most sports movies use the sport as a metaphor, but it's hard to find one which reveals that metaphor so surprisingly.  ("Field of Dreams" might have used it just as effectively, but it's not a surprise the way it is in "Rocky."  "On the Waterfront" uses boxing as a metaphor at a key point, but the film itself is void of any actual boxing matches.)

I'd also like to ask this question: How many other movies capture low-class life so well?  There's no glitz or glamor to Rocky's life until the final fight.  Rather, he's a loser for most of the movie, and so are his friends.  Even his girlfriend Adrian (Shire) is crippled by her shyness and just a bit off-kilter.  Rocky doesn't live in a world where aspirations are big and dreams are bigger.  It's a world where people struggle to get along, and are easily sidetracked.

Rocky's scene where he tries to save a young teenage girl from developing a bad reputation shows us how complex things are in this world.  On the one hand, he's trying to offer her advice on how to better herself.  This advice is ultimately rejected, and Rocky's sincerity is twisted and misread.  But, at the same time Rocky is trying to tell this girl to live a better life, he himself is already a part of what he is trying to warn her about.  Although his dreams are tied to professional boxing, he actually makes a living acting as "muscle" for the local mafia.  Everything is a bit muddled and unclear.  Rocky prefers to keep things black and white, unaware that he lives in a world of gray.

I think "sincerity" is the key word in appreciating "Rocky."  You have to watch it in a sincere manner, putting aside any cynicism.  The actors are all sincere and straight in their performances.  (Yes, even Carl Weather's over-the-top job as Apollo Creed is just as honest as it is over-the-top.)  The characters in the film are sincere in their hopes and dreams and unfortunate realities.  Ultimately, the message of the film is sincere in what it tries to show us about ourselves.

Win Win

Directed by: Thomas McCarthy

Written by: Thomas McCarthy (Screenplay, story), Joe Tiboni (story)

There aren't too many movies that tell stories that truly capture real life, even if the story isn't real. Many movies attempt to, but they usually become overly dramatic or become unbelievable or rely on deus ex machina tricks to help wrap up the story. "Win Win," though, effectively captures the complexities of the struggling middle class in this early 21st century recession.

Mike Flaherty (Giamatti) runs a small and struggling law firm. When an opportunity to earn some extra cash arrives, he becomes the guardian for the elderly Leo (Young), takes the monthly guardian check, and then dumps Leo in a retirement home. But when Leo's estranged teenage grandson Kyle (Shaffer) arrives suddenly and alone, Flaherty takes Kyle into his home without explaining the shady financial dealings. With Flaherty, though, Kyle begins to come out of his shell, and Flaherty falls deeper into deception.

"Win Win" manages to tell and sell a story that is "realisitic" without falling into the trap of making it "gritty." All of the characters - especially Amy Ryan who plays Flaherty's devoted wife - are archetypes easily recognized from everyday life. No one is idealized; everyone has their faults.

Part of what makes the film great is that it asks us to make a moral judgement about the Flaherty character. But this judgement is complicated. Although he starts the film by making a terribly ethical decision - one which will affect the course of the movie at several points - we're also shown the realities of the financial dilemma which led to his decision. Over the rest of the film, the audience also sees his generous and loving side in his dealings with his family and Kyle. He is neither purely good, nor purely bad. He is in the middle. He is an everyman.

Someone (and I forget who - you can google it, if you want) described "Win Win" as "a wrestling version of 'The Blind Side.'" And, in a sense, it's true. "Win Win" strips down the glossy veneer of the "The Blind Side" and made it a more personal story. With "The Blind Side," there were issues of class, race, and financial status at play, but with "Win Win" the story is much more down to earth and a more realistic and contemporary story (even though "The Blind Side" was technically a true story). (And don't get me wrong - I loved "The Blind Side" and I think it's a great movie. But I feel that "Win Win" is a much better examination of the American conscience in these troubled times, and better reflects life for the average person.)