Reacting to ROCKY BALBOA (2006) | Movie Reaction

Like the actress Talia Shire "Adrian" said in an interview when asked why she wasnt in the movie, she said "But i was! The whole movie is about me" if she was alive Rocky wouldnt even had the drive or reason to fight...no stuff in the basement 🙂✌️

I was having a bad day. A boring, isolated Saturday afternoon (don’t worry, my life is pretty good usually). Nothing to watch on YouTube…but this dropped so I paused it, prepared a meal, and now will sit down to what I already know will be a great and heartfelt reaction to one of my absolute favorite movies! Thanks, Dawn.

Adrian was originally in the "Rocky Balboa" script, but Talia Shire and Sylvester Stallone both agreed that Rocky would not have the "beast inside [him]" - that pent up rage he needed to fight again - if Adrian was still there. Rocky would've been totally happy running the restaurant with her and would have no reason or purpose to fight. They also felt they couldn't let her die IN the film because the audience wouldn't be able to cope with the loss. So Adrian becomes the main character of "Balboa" while simultaneously being an offscreen presence - a ghostly memory - throughout. Talia was already penciled in to be in the movie so when Stallone made the script change he made sure she got her full pay and was given full screen credit through archival footage. Talia Shire did a number of interviews and press for the film at the time of "Balboa's" release (she was at the premiere with Stallone) where she was asked if she felt angry for not being in the film. Talia replied, "I am in it... The whole movie is about ME."

And I think it's so great that Rocky (and Stallone) have Spider Rico in Rocky's life. (Spider was in the very first scene of Rocky I, he was the boxer that head-butted Rocky before Rocky gave him the beatdown.)

Only now does Rocky explain his life philosophy. How hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Remember, all he wanted to do in the first fight with Apollo was go the distance.

Both the actress who played Maria and Stallone have come out in interviews saying that the short kiss they shared was a mix of "Thank you" and "Good luck". There was NO romantic aspect to their kiss, even though a lot of people who saw the movie thought that there was something going on and got upset because they felt that Rocky should never have kissed anyone but Adrian. So, when you see the scene with a sense of "thanks/luck" connected to it, it takes on a whole new meaning and feel.

Rocky called Pauly a human hamper, a container for dirty laundry, when he said Spider dressed like a bum. Not a human hamburger. lol

Spider Rico, the guy working in his restaurant, is the same character and same actor that Rocky was fighting in the very first scene of the first movie.

The champion in this movie is struggling because the competition in the heavyweight division is considered weak, so he isn't getting respect for his accomplishments. Rocky represented a challenge for him to earn some respect.

19:35 When Talia SHire (Adrian) was asked if she was upset that she wasn't cast for this movie, she said "Why would I be upset? I may not be in the movie, but when you think about it, the whole movie is all about Adrian."

They actually moved the statue in real life to save it from getting ruined by the weather. It wasn't built to last so they moved it to protect it.

This is the film that allowed Rocky to be *real*. Until this point, he was a two-dimensional heroic underdog. Rocky V tried to do him justice, but fell short. Rocky's personal losses; Adrian, the relationship with his son, and his win of always moving forward through it all gave him all the depth we knew was there Time passing made this story epic

The reason for the name difference is that Rocky is a nickname. Robert is Rocky's actual first name, and his son is Robert Balboa, Jr

14:06 Dawn: "Everyone needs to be more like Rocky." Amen to that.

Talia Shire, the actress who played Adrian, is still living. But sadly, Burt Young, Paulie in all the Rocky movies has passed away. As has Carl Weathers who played Apollo Creed.

When the cat in the background started dancing, I realized this video deserves an Oscar for best musical👅

8:37 Rocky Jr. was ALWAY Robert...because he was named after his father Robert "Rocky" Balboa Sr.

Fun fact: “Weird Al” did a parody of “Eye of the Tiger” about Rocky now owning a neighborhood deli. This was back in 1983. Now, in this movie, he owns a restaurant. I thought that was an interesting coincidence.

For Rocky, this fight was never about winning or losing, it was about standing his ground, about proving himself and everyone else that, even if life hit him hard he could still move forward.

The nice thing about the "ROCKY" movies is that you never have to choose which one was best, or which one was better than another... they're all wonderful because Rocky was in all of them. They could make a movie with Rocky sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons and chatting with passers-by for 2 hours, and I'd love it. And if I could, I'd sit on that bench with him. Mr. Stallone, thank you for all of your works, your inspiration, and your continued commitment to excellence in REAL storytelling. You're the best.