Rocky was not a terrible admirable character, that was the entire point.  He was just a regular guy who meant well but was a bum.

I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who once quipped, "God must love common people, because he made an awful lot of them." Frankly, I've known a lot of common folk, or regular guys if you prefer, and almost all of them were a million times more admirable than, in my view, the utterly detestable Rocky Balboa. Come now, folks. Was I really the only guy watching those movies that pulled for ALL of his opponents to beat the stuffing out of him?

If the defining question of the topic were altered slightly, to say, "How will Rocky Balboa end?" the answer might finally be, "largely ignored."

Its box-office numbers weren't disastrous; as of January 18 it had pulled in $66 million domestic, and will probably tack on another 5 to 10 million before it ends its run, about exactly what we predicted. What has been curious has been its complete lack of appeal in foreign markets. It has only pulled about $10 million overseas. Compare that to You, Me and Dupree, a very different movie, but with comparable domestic numbers. It ended its domestic run in the mid-70 million range. Its foreign take was around $55 million. Evidently Rocky's appeal is strictly an American phenomenon, and not, these days, a strong one even here.

Why did we expect Rocky to be bad? Stallone's track record was a launching point for speculation. As for Rocky being an extension of Stallone's "real life self," PLEASE! Rocky may represent some extension of Stallone's ideal vision of himself, assuming that he actually does aspire to some status lower than Zeus. But Rocky wasn't a terribly admirable human being, at least by any standard I'd choose to admire. And, frankly, neither is Sly...

For what it's worth, I doubt either of them will receive sufficient votes to make the final ballot. The competition is sufficiently stiff that RB will likely be ignored by both the AMPAS and the Razzies.

Originally posted by fan of 30 years And while I do not profess to be any sort of expert on who is a good actor or not, I would disagree with the nominations of both Milo and Burt.

HeadRazz, I understand that you have to do what you what you have to do.  And while I do not profess to be any sort of expert on who is a good actor or not, I would disagree with the nominations of both Milo and Burt.  The character of Paulie reminds me of so many people I have met in life that I can't help but feel that Burt captures him so well.  And Milo pulled off that roll surprisingly well, to me. 

No hard feelings though, everyone gets to have an opinion.

With the movie now out, I will say this.  I absolutely loved it.  And as much as I would love for Rocky, thus Sly to kick butt at the box office and really show everyone who isn't rooting for him, I have come to the realization that it doesn't really matter. 

I know low #'s and bad reviews will affect future projects, but for me, I got what I was wanting with Rocky Balboa.  A sweet, sentimental, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something, Bill Conti score, going the distance close to MY favorite character ever.  And since Sly and Rocky are so much the same in my mind, neither can do much wrong in my eyes.

I have never been so naive as to think or say that Sly never made any bad movies.  But I would like to say that he is the ONLY actor that I am willing to watch whether or not it is a bad movie.  Even the "greats" in the eyes of most can't draw me to a movie that is bad.

  Everyone has an opinion, so, here is mine.  I am sure that you will like Rocky Balboa, and that no matter what it will not redeem Sly enough to avoid your Razz.  That's is OK.  Do what you feel is right... I got what I wanted.  And I will now look forward to whatever Sly does next. 

Response from Head RAZZberry: Dear Fan of 30 Years and #1 Sly Fan -- While we don't totally agree about ROCKY BALBOA, we're much closer in our response than you might expect. Due to the critical acceptance of  the film (LINK) and the fact that it is clearly not bombing at the box office (LINK)  I chose to list it in only two places on my 27th Annual RAZZIES Nominating Ballot (both Burt Young as Paulie and Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky Junior for Worst Supporting Actor). Stallone's performance in this film, especially the scene where he breaks down in tears over the loss of Adrian, was certainly nothing for him to be ashamed of (or for us to poke fun at). We  have also decided 2006 is not an appropriate year to give Sly a Worst Career Achievement award. But if ROCKY VI and its apparent success allow Stallone to finally make RAMBO IV and/or his "dream project" about Edgar Allen Poe, as I mentioned in a previous post, we will likely revisit the issue in the next year or two...

Originally posted by #1-Film Freak!! The only realistic ending would be for Balboa to die in the ring. But given what a golden goose Rocky has proven to be for the minimally talented Stallone, I seriously doubt that's how it will end. I voted in agreement with head RAZZberry above -- I bet Sly rips-off Rocky I one more time...

Could be worse...he could get into the ring in cowboy getup and a guitar and sing us to death...

...or, he could arm wrestle Mason Dixon, but he doesn't need to get custody of his son, because, after all, he is grown up...

Allison :-)