Rocky

Tomorrow, my BFF Amy and I are skipping work and driving to Collegeville, PA to see our favourite film of all time on the big screen. Rocky. The excitement is beyond words. I fully expect to be reduced to tears at several points - when Buddy rolls the window down and says to Rock, "So long, meatbag" and Rocky walks away in the cold, angry and hurt. When Paulie throws Adrian's turkey in the alley after she spent all day preparing it. When Mickey walks down the stairs and out into the night and Rocky, raging and furious just a moment before, chases after him and through the silence we see them reconcile. Then when Rocky lies in bed next to Adrian and tells her that he knows he can't beat Apollo; he just wants to be on his feet at the end of the bout, to go the distance. And finally, at the last scene, when Adrian runs to the ring and Rocky, so obsessed with her, notices that her hat is missing and asks, "Where's yer hat?" to which she responds that she loves him. Oh my God!! It's so good!!!

I think what I love most about this film is that it was made in my hometown. The streets Rocky walks are ones I know intimately. The people whose path he crosses are so similar to people I've known. The way they speak and act is just like those I grew up along side. It was released the year I was born and I've never known life without the music and the story. The simple story of a man who is overlooked and very much alone. I identify so closely with him and understand his persistence and sadness and desire to, at the very least, be liked. It's a brilliant character study and so well written. A movie that rises above so many other big pictures. Through all the sequels, Rocky still holds strong as the best in the series (although Rocky Balboa is a very close second) and Amy and I are busting at the seams to see it. I can't wait!