Rocky Balboa vs He Got Game

We all know that Rocky Balboa is a badass, and we all know he’s the perpetual underdog. But what we rarely hear is what a good guy he is. Rocky isn’t just a champ, he’s such a kind, sensitive character that he’s often shocked not to find goodness bubbling just under the surface of everyone he meets. When Rocky encounters someone disingenuous, he’s momentarily taken aback, as we all should be. I had forgotten this about Rocky Balboa. I entered the theater a cynic, ready for cheesy dialogue, clichéd training montages and glossy, overly-edited fight scenes. It took Rocky Balboa (and Rocky Balboa) a couple scenes to size me up, but he put me in my place in the end.

Rocky Balboa has not fought for well over a decade. He’s settled considerably, living in a small house in Philadelphia, and running an Italian restaurant where he regales diners with old boxing stories they’ve already heard. He’s still recognized around town, but they’ve removed his statue. His son is an aspiring business man, Pauly works at a meat-packing plant, Adrian is dead. Rocky does a couple chin-ups every morning, goes to work, tells his stories, and takes flowers to the cemetery. Rocky is lonely, but it’s clear he’s getting used to this quieter life, and maybe that’s fine.

And then something happens. On ESPN, a computer bout is held between Rocky in his prime and the current champ, Mason “The Line” Dixon. Rocky kicks his ass, much to the delight of everyone except Dixon, and to the surprise of virtually no one. The ESPN commentators have a laugh and soon it will all blow over. Except Rocky is wondering now what the harm would be in maybe training some, maybe even doing a few local amateur fights. He’ll never get Adrian back, but maybe he could get back in shape and at least do something he loves to pass the time.

It’s a terrible idea. Everyone thinks so, and most tell Rocky to his face. But he’s reconnected with Lil Marie, and Pauly has a lot of free time lately, and his son’s starting to come around, and the big lug has even found a sad little stray dog, and I swear to you, that training montage is not clichéd at all. It rocks, and it’s sincere in the right spots and self-aware enough in the others, and if you do not well up just a touch when he runs up those steps then I just don’t know if we should be friends anymore. That’s all I’m saying.

I can usually tell you what kind of movies I would like. What I can not determine is what will move me. Rocky Balboa moved me. It is not a perfect film (part 6 of anything is rarely going to approach perfect). But it is in possession of genuine emotion and spirit, and in Mr. Sylvester Stallone, one of the finest performances of the year. You heard me. What a great surprise this is: Rocky Balboa is a fun, suspenseful, inspiring movie. It’s rare that a movie sets out to do exactly what it intends, and fulfills its expectations exactly. Rocky Balboa doesn’t pretend to be Raging Bull (or even Rocky); it’s as much an underdog as its main character. Directed and written with heart and sincerity by Stallone, Rocky Balboa provides a satisfying cap to the series (I actually think you could bump it up some in the order. Shit, make it part two if you wanna. What a great story that would be.). It’s obvious that Stallone revisited the original Rocky, and also that he’s spent some time with Nobody’s Fool and Million Dollar Baby. Stallone’s made some crap in his day, but I for one can’t wait to see what he does next.

He Got Game, in case you were wondering, is the kind of movie I usually like. It looks, at first, like another of Spike Lee’s political and racial docu-dramas, this time exposing the world of college sports as corrupt, decadent and racist. And at first, that’s what it is, I suppose. But ultimately, He Got Game is a movie about a father and a son. Note that I didn’t say it was a movie about fathers and sons. In He Got Game, Spike Lee portrays a family so specific and human that to use them in any generalizations about anyone else takes away a bit of their power.

Jesus Shuttlesworth is probably the best high school basketball player in the country, and is being scouted by the best schools. The scouts make the pitch in a way that you might expect at the pro level, but when you’re as good a player as Jesus, high school is the pros, since pro basketball is the final destination anyway. In other words, if Jesus wants a car, Jesus gets a car. If he wants a girl, he gets a girl, or three.

By the way, can I get some props for the sentence “If Jesus wants a car, Jesus gets a car”?

Meanwhile, Jesus’ father, Jake, is in prison, serving time for the killing of his wife (we hear about the crime over and over, each time illuminating it for us a bit more. It’s complicated, and has hurt Jake’s relationship with his son immeasurably.) Because college basketball is huge, and deal with Jesus is coveted, Jake is made an offer: if he can, in one week, convince his son to sign a deal, his sentence will be reduced. I know. It sounds like one of those sitcom plots we get so often, where the landlord has to live in his own building or whatever. But with college ball, money is on the line, and Lee made me believe this was a reasonable offer. Not hurting things one bit is the fact that Jake Shuttlesworth is played by Denzel Washington.

Man, what an underrated performance. How is it that Washington is one of our more celebrated actors, and this role never gets mention? Washington’s Jake is a rage and regret-filled man, with genuine love for his children, but no easy access to his emotions or communication skills. Jesus is in no mood to listen to any wisdom his father might have to impart—why would he be?—and Jake only has a week.

This is one of Spike Lee’s best movies. He Got Game, besides being a great movie for sports fans, is a seems-true tale of a certain kind of family: one that has been broken, and cannot be fixed, but might start to work again, differently. I won’t say how it ends, of course, but since it’s got one sure thing in Jesus (Ray Allen, who plays pro ball in real life), and an underdog in Jake, it would seem there’s a chance to satisfy everybody. Lee also gets the best performance so far out of Milla Jovovich, as a prostitute friend of Jake. And, as he did later in 25^th Hour, he gives Rosario Dawson a great character with a great name: Lala Bonilla (in 25^th Hour, she was Naturelle Riviera. Eventually, all her characters should get together and form the best disco girl-group ever.) I’ve heard some nitpicking about the ending, which contains one small fantasy element, but I think it’s a fitting, moving tribute to a relationship, and a fine ending to the gritty reality the rest of the movie has portrayed. Whether or not you go for it will depend on how much you were inspired by Rocky Balboa running up those steps one last time.

Rocky Balboa: B+
He Got Game: A