Are Elite Coastal Film Critics Muzzling the Oscar Prospects of Sylvester Stallone Biopic ‘I Play Rocky’?

What can a mainstream filmmaker do when an elite cabal of toxic critics are determined to hate your film and cause as much reputational damage as as they can, despite the fact that everyone else in the civilized world who has seen it, likes it a whole lot?

Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky,” an unpretentious, practical-minded, inescapably moving drama about how a young Sylvester Stallone pulled himself out of poverty and career desperation by writing and starring in the hugely successful, Oscar-winning “Rocky,” is being released by Amazon/MGM on November 6. The picture, written by Peter Gamble, has been generating major buzz since it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, a Saturday evening, at the Princess of Wales theatre.  

It didn’t just connect with an audience that night. It triggered something primal.
“To say “I Play Rocky” blew the roof off the Princess of Wales theatre would be an understatement,” wrote World of Reel blogger Jordan Ruimy. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Toronto audience — any festival audience — embrace a movie the way they did last night. The crowd applauded multiple times during the film. I really think Amazon/MGM has their Best Picture contender here.”

Deadline’s Pete Hammond was also wowed, calling “I Play Rocky” a “sensational, fantastic, crowd-pleasing biopic.” Along with everyone else he singled out Anthony Ippolito’s performance as Stallone in his late 20s, calling it “uncanny.”