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Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

What’s Aged the Worst?

Affordable housing, Paulie, weight training, Adrian missing the fight, stickball, domestic expectations, background boxing, and Rocky’s exaggerated impairment

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:30Read transcript
  • A young couple being able to afford the house is identified as having aged worst.
  • Paulie is selected as having aged worst. — Bill Simmons
  • The claim that boxers should never lift weights is questioned. — Bill Simmons
  • Adrian not attending the fight is criticized. — Bill Simmons
  • Stickball and children playing outside are nominated as dated images. — Van Lathan
  • Rocky telling Adrian to start dinner after she returns to work is criticized as dated. — Van Lathan
  • A background boxer’s technique and hairline are mocked. — Van Lathan
  • Stallone is criticized for making Rocky seem too cognitively impaired in this installment.
Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

Steven Seagal shitting on himself award for most unbelievable anecdote from the actual film shoot

Stallone’s pectoral injury (uncertain) and Talia Shire’s scheduling conflict as explanations for plot choices

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:01Read transcript
  • The host says he is not positive he believes Stallone’s claim that a torn left pectoral forced the switch to right-handed fighting. — Bill Simmons
  • The group notes that one-handed exercises in the training montage may support the injury account. — Chris Ryan
  • Talia Shire’s work on Old Boyfriends is reported as the reason Adrian misses the fight and her scenes were filmed later. — Chris Ryan
Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

What’s Aged the Best?

The zoo callback, reckless spending spree, fuller arena, Tony’s pep talk, New Jersey gas service, Rocky lore inherited by Creed, and Carl Weathers

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:46Read transcript
  • The zoo callback to the driver in the first film is praised. — Bill Simmons
  • Rocky rejecting condominiums and characters going on a visibly doomed spending spree are praised as period storytelling. — Bill Simmons
  • The arena being filled with actual extras improves on the first film’s cost-cutting. — Chris Ryan
  • Tony’s monotone locker-room encouragement of Apollo is praised. — Chris Ryan
  • Tony’s pep talk prompts a joking comparison to Ben Johnson coaching Caleb Williams. — Chris Ryan
  • The line about pumping gas in New Jersey still works because drivers there cannot pump their own gas. — Van Lathan
  • A story about teasing Charlemagne for using full-service gas leads to discussion of regional gas-station customs and their argumentative friendship. — Van Lathan
  • The Rocky lore and visual template inherited by Creed, especially the running and training material, are praised. — Van Lathan
  • Carl Weathers’s athleticism, acting, and range are praised. — Van Lathan
Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

Sasha Jenkins Award for Actor Who You Can’t Believe Didn’t Become a Bigger Star

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:40Read transcript
  • Carl Weathers is selected because his comedy, action work, athleticism, and dramatic range should have produced a larger career.
  • The group objects to how often his characters die to motivate other heroes. — Van Lathan
  • A sitcom-style career turn is suggested as another path he could have taken. — Van Lathan
Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

Mallory Rubin Award: Did This Movie Need a Better Sex Scene?

The group asks whether Rocky and Adrian have sex only on their wedding night, then compares Adrian across the franchise.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:14Read transcript
  • The category is posed in reverse as a question about whether the wedding night is Rocky and Adrian’s only sexual encounter.
  • The empty new house prompts a joke that the couple could use every room. — Van Lathan
  • Adrian’s personality and communication are compared across later Rocky films. — Van Lathan
Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Rocky beating the prepared Apollo, the coma, Gazzo’s unused plot potential, and Adrian

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:36Read transcript
  • One-eyed and impaired Rocky beating a prepared, motivated Apollo is selected. — Bill Simmons
  • The coma is selected. — Chris Ryan
  • Gazzo is selected because his appearances have little effect on the plot despite Joe Spinell’s performance.
  • Adrian is selected without elaboration. — Bill Simmons
Rocky II The Rewatchables
Rocky II

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

A Creed-centered version; swapped spouses; Apollo’s wife among 1970s beauties; Stallone over Cruise as a movie runner

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:51Read transcript
  • The movie would be more interesting as Creed, centered on Apollo’s shame and rematch obsession. — Chris Ryan
  • Rocky and Apollo would both fare better if they swapped wives. — Van Lathan
  • Apollo’s wife is placed among the best-looking Black women of the 1970s. — Bill Simmons
  • Stallone is judged a better and more natural movie runner than Tom Cruise.
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