I Play Rocky

Fifty years later, Sylvester Stallone is still synonymous with Rocky Balboa. The lighthearted biopic I Play Rocky looks to strengthen that bond even further.

This crowd-pleasing origin story from director Peter Farrelly (Green Book) shoehorning the story of the tumultuous buildup to his breakthrough role into the Rocky formula — complete with a signature training montage.

A lighthearted tale of artistic inspiration and creative ingenuity, the film is transparent in its intent to ride the coattails of 1976 Oscar-winner Rocky and its enduring franchise — it’s more compelling because we already know the subject and to a certain extent how it all turns out.

After all, as well-documented as Stallone is as a talented actor and writer, it turns out he might be an even better negotiator.

The film follows Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) as an aspiring young actor who moves to Hollywood with his wife (AnnaSophia Robb), then writes a screenplay for a boxing drama loosely based on New Jersey pugilist Chuck Wepner.

The script catches the attention of producing partners Irwin Winkler (P.J. Byrne) and Robert Chartoff (Toby Kebbell), who bring it to a studio executive (Tracy Letts) ready to finance it.

Stallone really needs the money, but he won’t accept a deal without an agreement that he plays the title role himself. Such a concession would not only slash the budget but force Stallone to forego a potentially life-changing payday.

It becomes a leap of faith for everyone involved, including director John Avildsen (Jay Duplass), who indulges Stallone’s stubborn creative choices during a production fraught by almost impossible odds and insurmountable obstacles.

The film conveys a hardscrabble charm befitting its gritty, blue-collar milieu, despite embellishments to fit a predictable rags-to-riches narrative trajectory.

Ippolito (who played Al Pacino in the making-of-Godfather miniseries “The Offer”) nails Stallone’s speech and mannerisms, but his endearing performance transcends mere mimicry as a man who generates sympathy through his perseverance and self-belief.

Some periphery characters — including co-stars Carl Weathers (Stephan James) and Talia Shire (Kiki Seto) — lack depth in the screenplay by Peter Gamble (Office Uprising), which offers surface-level insights into the realities of the movie business through the eyes of a big dreamer who risks everything on himself.

Even if it’s too eager to celebrate Stallone as a genuine working-class underdog, I Play Rocky still packs an emotional punch, with its biggest fights taking place outside the ring.

Rated PG-13, 128 minutes.