Sly, the documentary about Sylvester Stallone, highlights the significance of his voice in making him a star. Stallone’s voice has two distinct facets, both integral to his on-screen presence.
First, there’s his unmistakable New York-accented baritone croak, which he speaks with. This voice carries the unique, gritty quality of his delivery and is partly affected by an accident during his birth that caused facial paralysis.
The second voice emanates from the scripts that Stallone not only acts in but also writes, and often rewrites, sometimes even on the fly. While Stallone may not have received numerous major writing awards, he did secure a nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the first Rocky film, which serves as a testament to his ability to craft stories that resonate deeply with audiences.
What Sly underscores is that every project Stallone is involved in inevitably becomes a Stallone film, whether originally intended that way or not. His words, stories, and themes are always rooted in a personal place, regardless of whether he is portraying relatable, human-scaled characters like Rocky Balboa and Sheriff Freddy Heflin or taking on the roles of action-packed heroes and anti-heroes like John Rambo, Cobra, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd, and Barney Ross. Stallone’s personal touch infuses each of these characters and stories, making them distinctly his own.
Sylvester Stallone’s distinctive voice and style permeate all the projects he’s involved in, whether through his own writing and performances or the influence he has had on younger writers who grew up watching his films. As a result, there’s never any mistaking his work for anyone else’s. Stallone’s creative fingerprints are unmistakable.
Over the years, Stallone continually reinvented himself, keeping his career fresh and dynamic. He began with the first five Rocky films and three Rambo movies over an impressive fourteen-year stretch. He also ventured into different genres, including action, farce, and romance, with films such as Oscar, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, and Rhinestone. Stallone’s versatility and willingness to explore different styles and tones set him apart.
Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stallone’s contemporary and perhaps his closest rival for the title of the 1980s and ’90s action cinema crown, acknowledged Stallone’s remarkable ability to remain one step ahead, even at the peak of their careers. Stallone’s work ethic and versatility, often wearing multiple hats on his projects (actor, writer, director, producer), set him apart as a true industry powerhouse.
In Sly, director Thom Zimny, best known for his work on Bruce Springsteen documentaries and music videos, provides Sylvester Stallone with the recognition he deserves as a pop culture icon. Zimny frames Stallone’s story with a working-class-hero perspective, encouraging him to reflect on his challenging upbringing in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. This approach contrasts Stallone’s ascent to stardom against the backdrop of an entertainment industry often dominated by nepotism and trust-fund beneficiaries.
The documentary delves into Stallone’s complex and often painful relationship with his father, Francesco Frankie Stallone, Jr. Throughout the narrative, we see how their relationship evolved from verbal and physical abuse during Sylvester’s childhood to jealousy, undermining, pettiness, and cruelty during adulthood. It becomes evident that Francesco’s actions were fueled by the pain of witnessing his children surpass him, a situation that would typically fulfill a parent’s dreams but, in this case, led to a strained and difficult father-son dynamic. Sylvester Stallone’s younger brother, actor and musician Frank Stallone, also contributes to the documentary, offering insights into their father’s behavior and its impact on the family.
Sylvester Stallone’s journey in Sly included learning to play polo from his father, who introduced him to the sport during their time in Maryland. This period in Stallone’s life came after his parents’ separation. His mother, wrestling promoter Jackie Stallone, took Sly’s younger brother with her to Philadelphia, which eventually became the iconic backdrop for most of the Rocky film series.
The documentary briefly touches on the separation between the two brothers, a segment filled with emotional depth and significance. It’s a poignant and powerful part of the film that could have easily been expanded into its own feature. Sly is most impactful when it focuses on Sylvester Stallone’s recollections of the disappointments and complexities of his relationship with his father. His words are delivered with a wry and understated quality, emphasizing the emotional weight of those experiences, making them even more profound to viewers.
Sly has moments of unrealized potential and often skirts the edge of profound insights but doesn’t fully embrace them. Director Thom Zimny wisely places Sylvester Stallone at the forefront, allowing him to guide the audience through his life with his characteristic affable, eloquent, and relatable energy. However, this approach may be responsible for the film feeling somewhat restrained, avoiding diving deep into the rough and raw aspects of Stallone’s life and career.
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Sylvester Stallone has faced many challenges, from being a target of ridicule and mockery in the entertainment industry to the critical snarkiness of journalists. Yet, the documentary barely scratches the surface of these issues, only briefly touching on his status as an outsider or underdog. It fails to delve into the implications of these words for an Italian-American New Yorker with a speech impediment who suddenly finds himself rich and famous without having learned the art of being smooth and classy.
Additionally, the documentary doesn’t explore Stallone’s marriages, except for a brief mention of his third marriage. It also briefly references the tragic passing of his son, Sage Stallone, at the age of 36. While Stallone expresses regret for prioritizing his work over his parenting, the film doesn’t dig deeper into this emotional aspect of his life, leaving viewers wishing for a more in-depth exploration.
Sly doesn’t delve deeply into Sylvester Stallone’s filmography either. It dedicates much of its first half to the original Rocky and quickly covers the rest of his career, with brief highlights on the Rambo series and Copland. The documentary also overlooks certain aspects of what Stallone’s career meant in the larger context of 20th-century America. In his heyday, Stallone was emblematic of specific cultural and political mindsets.
The Rocky films in the 1970s and 1980s were more than just movies; they were discussed for their racial politics as well as their cinematic accomplishments. Similarly, the Rambo series started as a wilderness survival narrative with a traumatized Vietnam veteran as the hero and evolved into a more politically charged story, taking a sharp right turn in 1985 with Rambo: First Blood Part II, in which Rambo embarks on a P.O.W. rescue mission, resulting in numerous on-screen deaths of Vietnamese and Russians. The Rocky series followed a similar trajectory in 1985 with Rocky IV, in which the Italian Stallion faces off against a towering, blond, scowling Soviet opponent, reflecting the political climate of the time.
While Sly touches on these elements, it doesn’t explore them in depth, leaving much of this cultural and political context unexamined.
For the majority of the following 15 years, Sylvester Stallone underwent a significant transformation, becoming a symbol of white ethnic grievance and right-wing fervor, a stark contrast to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, who represented more progressive values. During this period, he joined the ranks of actors like Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis, who actively supported right-wing politicians. A Newsweek cover story in 1985, titled Showing the Flag: Rocky, Rambo, and the Return of the American Hero, even anointed him as the successor to the iconic conservative actor John Wayne.
It would have been enlightening to hear Stallone discuss this political evolution with his usual wit and self-reflective insight. However, Sly doesn’t delve into his politics, avoiding the subject entirely. It’s quite likely that key interviewees in the documentary, including culture writer Wesley Morris of The New York Times and writer/director Quentin Tarantino, had valuable insights to offer on these topics, whether or not they were asked about them by the filmmaker.
There might indeed be a more provocative and challenging documentary buried within the deleted footage of Sly. Sylvester Stallone is known for providing captivating quotes and is willing to engage in controversial discussions when prompted by interviewers. At the time of filming Sly, he was in his mid-seventies and had recently released a feature-length documentary, The Making of Rocky vs. Drago. This documentary focused on his efforts to re-cut Rocky IV, a process that involved restoring character development that he had removed to shorten the film’s running time in 1985.
For those who are dedicated fans of Stallone, The Making of Rocky vs. Drago may be more satisfying, as it delves deeper into the intricacies of filmmaking, image-crafting, and the psychology behind his work, while also providing significant personal insights. Strangely, even though The Making of Rocky vs. Drago is very much Stallone’s film, it feels less guarded and less like a promotional piece for his self-created brand.
