ROCKY’S: The Boys Are Back in Town

As we get older, people change. They grow, they move, friendships dissolve. It’s a sad fact of life that seems inescapable. When we reunite, it can be awkward; but sometimes, it’s like things never changed. Rocky’s, the newest feature from Ben Cohen and Max Strand, focuses on complicated friendships and the joy we can still find in them, even if a tragedy forced us back together.

“It’s okay to just let things suck sometimes.”

The day before his ex-girlfriend’s funeral, Charlie (Jasai Chase-Owens) finds himself back at his old hangout: the parking lot of Rocky’s Deli. He hasn’t been back in town since he left for college, yet he finds his old crew hanging around like things never changed. Some are happy to see him; others are much less so, and all are at various stages of accepting that they’re growing into their twenties. Noah (Branden Lindsay) has a steady relationship with a girl no one believes exists, and Elbow (Dante Palminteri) just got his driver’s license at the ripe age of 22. 

Meanwhile, Danny (Gil Perez-Abraham) is getting into trouble with girls – and their boyfriends – and Eddie (Dani Foster) provides continual comic relief and freshly-rolled blunts. Tensions really rise when their buddy Socks (Steven Maier) shows up. He waves a realistic BB gun around, cracks wise to everyone, and within minutes has let it slip about Danny’s night with Sophia (Ani Mesa), and now her boyfriend’s coming to Rocky’s…and he’s bringing friends. The film unfolds in real-time, the day before the funeral, as we follow this crew from one moment to the next, exploring their hearts and minds, what’s kept them together and also driven them apart.

“If your life is so great, why do you have to prove it?”

Rocky’s is a character-driven comedy-drama,  punctuated by its vibes and needle-drops as it works through heavy themes including grief, resentment, and the consequences of growing up or refusing to do so. Co-writers and -directors Ben Cohen and Max Strand have delivered a touching coming-of-age story that owes much to the films of Cameron Crowe, Spike Lee, John Singleton, and early Kevin Smith.

The story primarily takes place either in the deli parking lot or the nearby baseball field, and the minimal use of locations amplifies the intimacy and natural evolution of each arc. Nothing feels forced, no development feels contrived. In addition to the locations, the soundtrack helps set the tone as well, though had this been a major studio release, it very likely would have been filled with bigger, more nostalgic songs.

Had this come out when I was younger, it likely would have resonated with me in the same way that Say Anything and Clerks did, and probably would have also been in my DVD rotation. If you’re anything like me, you had your own parking lot hangout spot with your own pack of lovable degenerates, passing the time bullshitting and making bad decisions that you’ve (hopefully) learned from. Will Rocky’s make you long for those times? Parts, maybe, but that depends if you got up to what these guys do. Rocky’s is a moving film about old wounds reopening, bolstered by convincing performances and natural-feeling cinematography, and worth watching either alone or with those lifelong nuisances that we call friends.

Rocky’s is available via VOD beginning January 21st.