Rocky week on AMC

I've always liked the series, except for V. Too much timeline crap (the kid goes from being 8 to 12 in two months, Paulie gives the lawyer power of attorney while Adrian has no clue, etc.), plus a street fight instead of in the ring made that movie fairly suck (except for Burt Young and the Don King character).

The other stuff that bothers me is the inconsistency. In II, they're worried about his eye. Then it all magically goes away, including Adrian, who goes from whining to being all happy during his 10 title defenses.

And also in II, Mickey has Rocky switch to being right-handed. Apollo beats the hell out of him worse than in I. It takes Mickey until the 15th round to tell him to switch. Um, hello? Your strategy of confusing the champ didn't fucking work. And you wait until the last round to have him do what worked in the first fight? And worse, your fighter tells you he doesn't want to switch. Wha? And then he does switch. Stupid stuff.

III was fine, except for that weird hug on the beach, and IV is a great guilty pleasure. V, as I mentioned before, sucks. The final one, I thought, was really good, especially the scene of Rocky and Paulie at the torn-down ice rink.

 

The original is, IMHO, the best sports movie ever if for no other reason than the underdog actually doesn't win. Which is a reason I also liked the last Rocky.

 

I told my wife this last night but I have never understood the plot point of Paulie's rabid jealousy in III. Without Rocky, Paulie is still working at a stinking meat packing plant.

 

Why no one thought of bringing back Gasso and his driver is beyond me....

Gasso's driver: "Take her (Adrian) to the zoo."
Rocky: "Why?"
Gasso's driver: "Because retards like the zoo."

That's why Rocky I gets my vote.

 

Major league, baby! They don't win either. But I agree with the Rocky 1 pick as greatest sports movie ever mmade.

 

They don't show it, but I guess, Paulie was still working at the meat plant and still owned his little house as Rocky was making his riches. They have that scene in the parking garage in III where Paulie yells at Rocky for moving Mickey into the house, but doesn't throw a bone to his friend Paulie. Paulie then asks for a job, which Rocky gives to him.

In V, Paulie says that it's a good thing he held onto the house and in VI, Paulie gets laid off, and talks about being there for over 30 years in this really incredible deleted scene:

 

For pure re-watchability, give me Rocky IV every time. It's gloriously over the top (didja see what I did there? didja? Ha!) in every conceivable way. Shit, even the psi numbers Drago was getting on the machine... if the dude hit that hard, the human skull would literally explode. But who the fuck cares?

There were alot of not-so-subtle homoerotic undertones in III... from the half-shirts to every friggin scene on the beach. But I do wish that someone like Clubber Lang actually existed.

 

Wow. That scene was really good.

Has Burt Young ever played a happy character in any of his parts?

 

Love that scene.

"Doncha think I hear things?"

 

Paulie felt he would be like co-chair of Rocky Inc., with women hanging all over him. Which is why he ended up desperately falling in love with a robot.

 

Paulie whines through three movies and does nothing. He's a worthless onlooker during all the training montages, often a flask in hand.