I Play Rocky Knocks Most Critics Out With 88% on Rotten Tomatoes
Peter Farrelly's I Play Rocky, with Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone, holds an 88% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes from 113 reviews. The film adds 27 theaters on Friday, November 13, and opens nationwide on November 20.
The film I Play Rocky, directed by Peter Farrelly, holds an 88% "fresh" critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 113 reviews as it expands to 27 more theaters on Friday, November 13, 2026.
I Play Rocky knocks most critics out, and audiences are even warmer. The site's Popcornmeter shows a 98% "fresh" score from more than 100 verified user ratings.
Where it is playing
The film opened in limited release in seven theaters on November 6. Friday's expansion adds locations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas.
I Play Rocky goes to theaters nationwide on November 20. It is rated PG-13.
The story
Anthony Ippolito stars as Sylvester Stallone, a young, struggling actor and writer. His script, called Rocky, draws interest from producers Irwin Winkler (P.J. Byrne) and Robert Chartoff (Toby Kebbell).
United Artists boss Sandy Maddox (Tracy Letts) agrees to fund the film but insists a bankable star play Rocky Balboa. Stallone refuses to bend despite lucrative offers for the script. He repeats the line that gives the film its title: "I play Rocky."
AnnaSophia Robb plays Stallone's first wife, Sasha. Jay Duplass plays director John G. Avildsen, and Stephan James plays Carl Weathers. Kiki Seto plays Talia Shire, and Matt Dillon plays Stallone's father, Frank Stallone Sr.
How it compares with the original
The debut comes nearly 50 years after Rocky reached theaters widely on November 21, 1976. Rocky holds a 95% critics' score from 143 reviews and a 69% audience score from more than 250,000 user ratings.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics' consensus on the new film reads: "A feel-good celebration of the underdog who created one of cinema's greatest underdogs, I Play Rocky may not be as powerful as the original article but packs considerable punch thanks to Anthony Ippolito's uncanny embodiment of Sly Stallone."
What critics are saying
Critic Glenn Whipp calls the film "Peter Farrelly's endearing crowd-pleaser, an underdog story about making the underdog movie that went on to win the Oscar for best picture in 1977."
Critic Peter Travers is blunter in his praise. He calls it "the crowd-pleaser of the year with breakthrough star Anthony Ippolito scoring decision-winning points as he gets everything right about Stallone before his legend calcified into caricature."
