Everything I Needed To Know In Life I Learned From ROCKY!

When my wife and I were first dating she thought it was a joke when I told her I thought ROCKY may be the quintessential American Film. I assured her that there was only about 8 minutes of boxing in the whole movie and that it was really a love story. After some begging she gave in and came to agree…at least that it was a love story, but placing it next to Citizen Kane or the Godfather still raises an eyebrow.

ROCKY

Before the dialogue became punch lines and the series a parody of itself, there was a sweet story about two “losers” so removed from social pretense that they see and love each other for exactly who and what they are. I don’t think you can find many other cinematic examples of such innocent love, such selfless affection. Watch the scene in the ice-skating rink and try not to feel it. Originally meant to take place in a fancy restaurant, budget constraints forced some inspired innovations that led to this and many of the film’s most memorable scenes. Instead of juxtaposing the characters in a world in which they don’t belong, we witness two lonely and reticent souls cautiously coming together and developing a trust they share with no one else in the world.

Rocky may not be the deepest character but he is complete and dimensional. He is real to anyone that grew up in a tough neighborhood, and he is easily understood by those of us who had a dream that left us adrift when it didn’t come true. Mickey’s a loser too, and he isn’t the benevolent trainer he became in later films, he’s a leech, a sycophant cashing in a meal ticket. Paulie too, the embodiment of failure and resentment, who trades his sister like an IOU. Apollo is a truly Shakespearian foil. A man consumed by success and riches, there is nothing honorable about him or his offer; Apollo is exploiting Rocky, an interestingly subtle racial statement, and he is such an example of ego run riot that he’s offended and embarrassed by Rocky’s humility at the press conference. Most significantly doesn’t take his trainer Duke’s advice to take the fight seriously.

Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the score is haunting; one of my favorites, but the best part of the film is that Rocky loses. He didn’t need to win; he just needed to feel valuable and legitimate, and most importantly proud of himself. The most important lesson however, is Apollo’s: Never pick a fight with someone who has nothing to lose!

ROCKY II

Not nearly as good as the first, but I genuinely love the story, and this one’s not about boxing either.  Rocky II is really Apollo’s story. Even though he won, the world thinks he’s a chump and he cannot reconcile his ego. Rocky in the meantime has something real in his life for the first time, a wife and a baby on the way. Retired after the loss to Apollo he can’t pretend to be something he’s not and agrees to a re-match. Does it matter that he wins? Not so much. This one is all about acceptance and overcoming fear.

ROCKY III

What can you really say about Rocky III? Tied with IV for the guiltiest pleasure of the series it is exquisite spray cheese! Thunderlips, the ultimate male! Oh how do you top that? That doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be learned: lying to protect the people you love doesn’t protect anyone, fear is the most cripplingly powerful of all emotions, and blind jealousy will only destroy you. My prediction for those that don’t heed Clubber’s demise? Pain!

ROCKY IV

If Rocky IV didn’t end the cold war I don’t know what did! When Drago waves his fist at Gorbechev and cries “I fight for me!” Reagan only had to turn off the lights on the way out. As with all tragic tragic Greek heroes, Apollo’s pride and arrogance brings his ultimate doom.  Rocky must strip away his comforts and attachments to return to his core, his most primal being, and prove that the heart is stronger than the mind. What’s the big lesson? James Brown is far too funky for those raised in the emotional and artistic void of an oppressed military/industrial state, so if you’re not careful somebody’s gonna get killed!

ROCKY V

Let’s skip straight to the lesson: The more complacent you are in life, the more likely you are to do something stupid!

ROCKY BALBOA

The return to the emotional roots of the character. This one caught me off guard and I admit I got pretty chocked up. It almost doesn’t matter that there’s a fight. There’s always another fight. As corny as it may seem Rocky’s fights and victories always take place before he even steps in the ring. Adrian is gone and the loss and longing Rocky feels is tangible. He finds a little peace and in a way comes full circle with the friendship of the girl who told Rocky to screw himself in the first film, now grown up, and her son. I guess in the end victories don’t make us immortal, we live on in the lives we touch.

Oh, I forgot the most important sequence in any Rocky movie-the training sequence! How can you watch that and not want to go out and kick someone’s ass? Seriously though, there is very little I’ve ever gotten without having to make a deep, deep commitment to and work my butt off for. Whenever I’m in the middle of something like that and my faith begins to waiver I tell myself I’m “gonna eat lightning and crap thunder!” and it always perks me up!