Paradise Alley

I know that I recently wrote about the Sylvester Stallone comedy Oscar. But with the opening of Creed, and Stallone getting some of the best reviews of his career, I thought I'd take a look back at one of his forgotting sports themed movies, 1978's Paradise Alley.

It's 1946, Hell's Kitchen, New York. The Carboni brothers are three, working class guys trying to get a head in life. Cosmo, Stallone, is a con artist who nickels and dimes passerbys on the street. Lenny, Armand Assante, is a bitter war vet who spends his days as a mortician. And Victor, Lee Canalito, is a sweet, dim hulk of a man who delivers ice blocks and dreams of marrying his Asian girlfriend and settling down on a houseboat.

Cosmo see's a way out of their dreary lives by having Victor wrestle at Paradise Alley, a seedy arena where they could make big bucks. Lenny has problems with this. He knows Cosmo is using their slow witted brother and that Victor could really get hurt. It's up to Victor to decide which brother to follow, and hopefully have the Cosmo and Lenny bury the hatchet.

This was Stallone's directorial debut, and what a debut it is. He wanted this to be shot before Rocky, but couldn't get the studio to back it. Once Rocky was a hit however, they were more than anxious to pony up the green. This is more of a drama than a wrestling picture. It's a movie about siblings and wanting a better life. I guess the original Rocky was about wanting a better life too, before it became about taking down the Russians and Mr. T.

I like this one better than Rocky though. This is more of an artistic film. If the fight scenes in Rocky are like a ballet, this one is a full blown opera. The wrestling scenes take place in the rain, which gives it a beauty amongst the rage. Also Stallone is not the athlete. If anything' he's more like Mickey in the Rocky films. Kind of sleazy, but with a heart. All three of the leads are very good, especially Canalito. A boxer by trade, Canalito steals every scene he's in. I'm surprised he didn't have more of an acting career.

And I have to mention, this was Tom Waits' acting debut. How weird is that? His appearance definately ups the cool cred.

The critics weren't knid to this picture when it came out. Maybe they wanted it to be another Rocky, but it's a different kind of beast. It's a Stallone pic that uses brain over braun.

Available on dvd.