The Rocky films are my favorite movies of all time because I love boxing and have found great inspiration in the struggles that the Rocky Balboa character overcomes throughout the series. One of the most amazing pieces of the story that is often overlooked is the relationship between Rocky and his wife Adrian. Here we have two simple people who in the worlds' eyes have very little to offer that make all of the difference in the world to each other. They truly exemplify the following quote: To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.
In this first installment of what will be a six part blog called Christian Love...and Rocky? we will focus on the first film and how these two simple people lived out the call to will the good of the other. To some it may seem strange to use a boxing film to find examples of true love, but anyone who has seen the Rocky series knows that there is also a great human story in each film.
The first time we see Adrian is when Rocky stops by her place employment, which is a pet store. Right away we can see that he's trying to get her attention but does so in a respectful way. He greets her with kindness and wants nothing more than to spend some time with this very shy and insecure women. His jokes are terrible but he's very sweet and even gets Adrian to smile at one point . Adrian's lack of confidence does not prevent her from knowing that Rocky means well so we catch her looking over at him from time to time as she appears to be somewhat interested in him as well.
Rocky's second visit during the film was after he had a very difficult day. He starts out by asking her if she needs any help with her work and then invites her out to a basketball game, which she declines. He tells her a little about his day and then focuses more on her well being rather than seeking her sympathy. That is when he tells her that the night is very cold and even offers to walk her home, which she also declines. Then he suggests that she take a cab home in order to avoid the neighborhood creeps. Adrian continues to say very little to him and even though Rocky is visibly frustrated he continues be a gentleman.
Immediately Rocky goes to the local tavern to speak to Adrian's brother Paulie. Rocky is frustrated and wants to know if Paulie knows why Adrian seems to have no interest in him. Immediately Paulie tells Rocky to forget her and that he can do better than her as he refers to his own sister as a freakin' loser!
...and we wonder why Adrian is so insecure.
Rocky deflects each of Paulie's comments because he truly does care about her, which leads to Paulie changing the subject. This shows that Rocky's interest in Adrian was indeed genuine because he continues to speak highly of her even when she is not around.
Such an idea could bring us to the following passage from Song of Songs 4:9: You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes. In other words, while Adrian may not see what Rocky sees there is something about her that has truly captured him.
Then we arrive to the famous Thanksgiving dinner scene as Paulie escorts Rocky to his home without Adrian's knowledge. As soon as she sees Rocky she knows that Paulie is trying to set them up on a date and immediately says that she is not ready for this. Paulie criticizes her and then calls her a loser in front of Rocky before she demands that he stop calling that. She then tries to use the excuse of having a turkey in the oven for her not being able to go out with Rocky before Paulie, in a horrible act of cruelty, tosses the turkey into the alley. Adrian is humiliated and runs to her bedroom.
...and we wonder why Adrian is so insecure.
Rocky deflects each of Paulie's comments because he truly does care about her, which leads to Paulie changing the subject. This shows that Rocky's interest in Adrian was indeed genuine because he continues to speak highly of her even when she is not around.
Such an idea could bring us to the following passage from Song of Songs 4:9: You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes. In other words, while Adrian may not see what Rocky sees there is something about her that has truly captured him.
Then we arrive to the famous Thanksgiving dinner scene as Paulie escorts Rocky to his home without Adrian's knowledge. As soon as she sees Rocky she knows that Paulie is trying to set them up on a date and immediately says that she is not ready for this. Paulie criticizes her and then calls her a loser in front of Rocky before she demands that he stop calling that. She then tries to use the excuse of having a turkey in the oven for her not being able to go out with Rocky before Paulie, in a horrible act of cruelty, tosses the turkey into the alley. Adrian is humiliated and runs to her bedroom.
Rocky sees that Adrian is distraught and speaks to her gently behind her door. This is the complete opposite of Paulie. He admits to feeling very awkward because he is talking to the door and then tells Adrian that he has no one to spend Thanksgiving with so he would appreciate it if she would go out with him. Adrian, perhaps out of sympathy for Rocky or because she would like to to get away from her brother that just humiliated her, accepts Rocky's invitation Before they leave the house there is a great shot of Adrian looking in the mirror where we can see that she is in fact hiding as much of her face as she can behind her glasses and her beanie that she has pulled down to her eyebrows (this last part is unfortunately not in the link).
Rocky's approach is most effective because it follows the idea that we see in the bible when the man in Song of Songs 5:2 knocks on the gate and calls out to the woman rather than trying to force his way in. The same also applies to the image of Christ in Revelations 3:20 when He knocks at the door and waits for us to allow Him in as He too will not force Himself on us. That is because true love must be offered and received willingly. When a woman sees that a man's intentions are good she may allow him into her world. In Rocky's case, he was always very gentle and respectful of Adrian.
As they exit her home Rocky tried to downplay Paulie's actions in order to smooth things over. After all, Paulie is Rocky's best friend as well as Adrian's brother so she would certainly want to be reminded of how much Rocky cares about Paulie. Further, it also showed Adrian that she doesn't have to feel awkward about the way Paulie treated her in front of Rocky as he is more interested in spending time with her rather than focusing on something that happened in the privacy of their home.
They arrive to the ice skating rink after it had already closed down so Rocky had to smooth over the lone worker at the rink in order to allow Adrian to have some time to skate. This must have been an eye opening experience for Adrian who was certainly used to Paulie's abusive behavior rather than a man that would do anything to make her happy.
Rocky does not skate with Adrian but jogs around the rink with her because he said that skating is bad for a boxer's ankles. What's most important about this scene is that he is doing whatever he has to do to spend time with her. By having this time together they got a chance to have their first private conversation since they were not at the pet shop. He starts out by sharing the ups and downs of being a boxer and when she can see that he too has insecurities she starts to open up more to him.
Eventually they get to the famous exchange where Rocky says that his father told him that, you weren't born with much of a brain so you better develop your body. Adrian laughs for the first time in his presence and tells Rocky that her mother told her the exact opposite. This would certainly not be easy for a woman to share, but considering the fact that Rocky had a similar experience and was comfortable enough to share that with her gave her, gave her the confidence to share this memory with him. With that we also notice that Adrian is now speaking in a louder voice and begins to smile and laugh in Rocky's presence.
As they exit her home Rocky tried to downplay Paulie's actions in order to smooth things over. After all, Paulie is Rocky's best friend as well as Adrian's brother so she would certainly want to be reminded of how much Rocky cares about Paulie. Further, it also showed Adrian that she doesn't have to feel awkward about the way Paulie treated her in front of Rocky as he is more interested in spending time with her rather than focusing on something that happened in the privacy of their home.
They arrive to the ice skating rink after it had already closed down so Rocky had to smooth over the lone worker at the rink in order to allow Adrian to have some time to skate. This must have been an eye opening experience for Adrian who was certainly used to Paulie's abusive behavior rather than a man that would do anything to make her happy.
Rocky does not skate with Adrian but jogs around the rink with her because he said that skating is bad for a boxer's ankles. What's most important about this scene is that he is doing whatever he has to do to spend time with her. By having this time together they got a chance to have their first private conversation since they were not at the pet shop. He starts out by sharing the ups and downs of being a boxer and when she can see that he too has insecurities she starts to open up more to him.
Eventually they get to the famous exchange where Rocky says that his father told him that, you weren't born with much of a brain so you better develop your body. Adrian laughs for the first time in his presence and tells Rocky that her mother told her the exact opposite. This would certainly not be easy for a woman to share, but considering the fact that Rocky had a similar experience and was comfortable enough to share that with her gave her, gave her the confidence to share this memory with him. With that we also notice that Adrian is now speaking in a louder voice and begins to smile and laugh in Rocky's presence.
Later as they walk down the street Rocky and Adrian begin a very important conversation. Rocky speaks of people who are very shy by nature and how such people are fine the way they are. By saying that he affirmed Adrian for who she was. Then they talk more about boxing with Rocky sharing how most fighters end up becoming bums and how he in fact sees himself as a bum. Immediately Adrian tells him that she doesn't think he is a bum as she now affirmed him. (the shy comment is not at the beginning of the link)
When they arrive to Rocky's apartment it takes take some time for Adrian to accept his invitation to come inside. Eventually the fear of being in a situation that she is not accustomed to takes hold of Adrian and that is exemplified by the fact that she won't accept Rocky's invitation to sit with him while also speaking in her soft voice again. That leads her to tell Rocky that she doesn't belong here, that she doesn't think she knows him well enough and that she has never been alone in a man's apartment before. Surprisingly Rocky admits to also being uncomfortable but reminds her that she is his guest and tries to reassure her that everything is okay. This is important because we see both of them reveal their fears to each other which may have come from a trust that they began to establish earlier in the evening.
Adrian then decides to leave and that's when Rocky insists that she stay, even going as far as blocking the door. Adrian had to be frightened at this point but the fact that she didn't fight him maybe was a pat of her that knew that he wouldn't hurt her. That's when he asks her to remove her glasses and her beanie. He then tells her that she has nice eyes and that he always knew that she was pretty. Now Adrian has the hardest time looking at him because she can't hide behind her disguise. She responds by saying don't tease me with Rocky responding with I ain't teasing. Now, the same little girl whose mother told her that she wasn't born with much of a body now has a man telling her that he sees something that her own mother didn't see: Adrian is good! (Genesis 1:31)
As the film progresses we see a difference in Adrian because now she is in a genuine loving relationship. Her glasses and hat are gone. She looks up more and speaks with a bigger voice because she knows that Rocky will listen to anything she has to say. Rocky made her feel beautiful both inside and out because he accepted her for who she was. One of the most heart warming scenes is when she is waiting for Rocky at his apartment when he returns from a run and he stops in his tracks just to look at her. He tells her how beautiful she looks, which of course warms her heart
Later we see that Adrian not only accepted the fact that she was good but was also willing to defend her new found dignity. When a drunken Paulie starts on her again she fights back with a rage that goes back many years. She states clearly that she was in the fact that one that took care of him and yet he still made her feel like a loser. Then she roars aloud that I am not a loser and most likely at that moment realized that she never was a loser!
Rocky certainly struggled as a witness to this sibling exchange as it must have been hard for him to see Adrian in such pain while also realizing that his best friend had done this to his sister. But this would certainly be an example of Adrian being naked and not ashamed (See Genesis 2:25) because she already knew by now that Rocky would not judge her for what she said to Paulie. With Adrian having the willingness to admit such pain in front of Rocky he too would feel safe enough to share his own fears to her. That was best exemplified when he admitted prior to the climactic boxing match that he knew he couldn't win because he was not in the same class as his opponent, heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. Adrian of course treated him with the same respect that he always gave to her, which of course brought them closer as a couple.
Rocky carried his love for Adrian everywhere he went. The best example was when he received an unexpected title shot and then takes part in his first televised press conference. After answering some questions about the upcoming fight he then makes a point to give a shout out to his girlfriend, even when those who were running the press conference tried to interrupt him. (Start at 5:04)
Now we're going to shift gears for a brief moment and look at another relationship in Rocky's life. That is with his trainer Mickey Goldmill. For many years Mickey has seen Rocky as a man who has thrown away his potential. Rocky only sees a man who seems to have some sort of grudge against him for no apparent reason. This mystery is solved in this clip where Mickey is brutally honest with Rocky.
Rocky's Wasted Talent
Later, when Mickey finds out that Rocky has been given the shot of a lifetime, he goes to Rocky's home so he can offer to train him. Rocky is suspicious, and rightfully so, because it is not like Mickey to show such affection towards him. Rocky is not shy about why he is not interested in working with Mickey and it is not until Mickey starts to avoid the truth of their strained relationship that his anger starts to come out. After, letting out his anger, he follows the departing Mickey and while we are not able to hear what he has to say to the old man, he obviously forgave and accepted Mickey's offer to train him.
Pain and Experience
Carlos Solorzano
Finally, we get to the title match and after the fight is over it's difficult to tell what is going on in the ring because all Rocky cares about is seeing Adrian. He is greatly moved when she comes to him and tells him that she loves him, so much so that the movie ends with him being the champion of her heart rather than the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. When one sees their final embrace at the end of the film we can see that her love was the one thing that always meant the most to him.
We are just getting started. We will continue this discussion on how Christian love is further revealed in later films starting with the first sequel, Rocky II.
Carlos Solorzano
- BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach
- Certified through the Theology of the Body Institute
- Speaker with Catholic Speakers Organization
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