ROCKY’S stars Stanley Simmons (The Iron Claw, Superior), Ben Cook (West Side Story, Pretty Little Liars), Gil Perez-Abraham (The Batman, Carry On), Jasai Chase Owens (Mutt, The Expanse), Ani Mesa (Superior), Sharlene Cruz (In The Summers), Steven Maier (Omni Loop), Brandon Lindsay (A Soldier’s Play – National Tour), and introducing Dante Palimteri and Dani Foster.
The film was co-written and directed by Benjamin Cohen and Max Strand and produced by Josh Michaels and James Benson. Gravitas Ventures will release ROCKY’S on digital platforms on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. The film is not rated by the MPAA.
EDITOR’S NOTE: There are times when films aren’t rated by the MPAA, Motion Picture Association of America, because the filmmakers choose not to submit them for rating or because the MPAA declines to rate them. Sometimes the film’s content is deemed too controversial or unsuitable for rating, or the film’s creators felt the rating system didn’t align with their artistic vision. This reviewer has no idea why ROCKY’S is not rated,
WORD Synoptic-S
Growing up (in what looks like a small to medium sized town never identified), Charlie and his friends – Charlie is played by Stanley Simmons – frolicked in the parking lot of Rocky’s, a neighborhood, 24/7 greasy-spoon-deli. Charlie and his posse drifted apart after he left town for college.
One day he receives word that an ex-girlfriend has died. He returns for the funeral and faces enmity from his former posse – enmity ranging from spiteful to jocular and razzing, though the razzing at times occurs with a sharp edge. It will take a while for audiences to understand the reasons for the enmity.
Upon arriving in town, Charlie heads directly to Rocky’s, and, lo and behold, and from a safe distance, he surreptitiously observes members of his former posse as he draws on courage to go meet them nose to nose.
Eventually, some are happy to see him, some are not, yet commiserating and consoling eventually takes place, soothing their individual and collective pain as they recall their angst.
Film Review
ROCKY’S could have used more fizzle for the coming-of-age film narrative purported in the film’s publicity and marketing. Nevertheless, this reviewer knows there are reviewers out there who really like the mellowness of its thematic story telling (coming of age), even though it didn’t move nor rock this reviewer. For this reviewer, the story line was too mellow, too tepid for this reviewer’s tastes. Other miscues included the absence of cinematic sketches one might expect from budding filmmakers. Weeks-old cola in a bottle without a top has more fizzle than what Directors Ben Benjamin Cohen and Max Strand mustered for their film.
Homecoming, Charlie’s former posse.
Philosophically, coming-of-age-films can blur or overlook or overly fantasize the existential perils we face growing up in America. The genre basically is expected to portray youthful characters’ transition to adulthood, reminding audiences of a so-called times when there were fewer responsibilities and much more innocence during their transitions. Do we truly grow up without realizing or even sniffing out that there are fateful responsibilities and consequences resulting from decisions and actions? Many don’t but some do. Nevertheless, parents, relatives schools, neighborhoods, to name a few, are suppose to guide and inform and help,
Reviewers like me can’t imagine nor conjure fantasies where such planes of existence might be located, allegedly describing and revealing those times of so-called innocence. I do remember moment, but I also recall the dark times of growing up on the South Side of Chicago. The weakest flicks lack plots with cinematic and theatrical elements reflecting the existential perils kids and youths face growing up in American, thus, I never became a film fan of the genre like I did with, say, horror and sci-fi movies.
That’s not to say there weren’t a few that captured my fancy but those usually contained some measure of a slick cinematic touch, such as a rocking-rolling soundtrack like Staying Alive for STAYIN ALIVE or soul-plumbing Don’t Forget About Me by Simple Minds in the movie THE BREAKFAST CLUB.
There are coming-of-age-ers conjoined with other genres, such as horror, sci-fi and fantasy, and those mixtures have sizzle. A few other postulations about coming of age that ROCKY’S most certainly could have siphoned off or drawn on: Character development, pivotal moments in character’s lives such as the main character’s emotional and mental transformation is central to the story, or pivotal moments regarding legal, sexual, spiritual or emotional maturity in key characters’ lives. Sharp dialogue and, or emotional responses rather than action, or explore universal themes such as self-discovery, personal growth, navigating societal expectations.
Examples, SIXTEEN CANDLES, PRETTY IN PINK WEIRD SCIENCE, FERRIS BULER. Coming-of-age stories can also be found in literature, theater, television, and video games and so on … and so forth.
Summing up, I wonder what came first, the chicken or the egg. That is, the filmmakers made their film as s a coming-of-age flick infused with homecoming elements of a prodigal key character. Or they made the film and then decided what genre to place it in for the marketing and publicity.
This reviewer decided not to rate this film other than say it’s the kind of movie he would only watch once – and with no regrets.
Remember: Gravitas Ventures will release ROCKY’S on digital platforms on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. The film has a running time of 79 minutes, 49 seconds and will not be rated by the MPAA. One more time: In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theater, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or “coming of age”. Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over action and are often set in the past.
Publisher, Editor, Reviewer Gregg W. Morris