I can see making Mickey a cantankerous old curmudgeon. A guy who is old and often in a bad mood but at his core is kind hearted and will help you if you need it. He wasn't like that. Mickey was a complete a-----e to Rocky. Big time. Insults him in the loudest and most public ways. Takes his locker. That's beyond a bad mood. That's nasty and PERSONAL. Then of course when Rocky gets a shot at the title, Mickey goes to him hat in hand. In other words, he only starts treating Rocky with any civility when Rocky has something he wants.
Mmmmm, not really overdone, per se. I think that was just how he was intended to be, and he later morphed into more of the "curmudgeon with the heart of gold". He definitely had some selfish motives in the first film; that much was clear. He wanted the shot as much as Rocky; for that matter, he wanted it more. But I think part of his problem was that he really didn't KNOW Rocky at first. He saw him as a half-assed fighter who spent his time working for a loan shark instead of really learning to fight. Later, though, after training him, he finds out that Rocky is actually a really good guy, and has a ton of raw, untapped talent. And from then on, he treats him better.
Thanks for responding. You both make some good points. Now that you put it that way, I can see how Mickey would FEEL the way he did but he didn't have to be such a prick about it. Think about it. We've all known people who "don't live up to their potential" but we don't go screaming at them and insulting them at every turn like Mick did to Rocky. THAT is the difference.
You're an IDIOT. It's called motivating. In Mickey's way he was trying to help Rocky because he knew he had more talent than what he was showing. And he knew he was wasting his life away as a leg breaker. Rocky was an adult, no reason to coddle Rocky. You really don't understand story telling, do ya?
I think at first there is a little jealousy on Mick's part when he learns Rocky has a shot at the title. And being that Mick never got to the top in his boxing career he wants a taste of the glory through Rocky. Having said that Mick ultimately becomes a more caring character than you first think. That really comes through more in Rocky II when Adrian is in a coma. I think at first he's so hard on Rocky because he feels Rocky could've went somewhere in his boxing career but instead wasted his potential by focusing more on being a small time criminal.
The Rocky/Mick apartment scene is probably my favorite scene out of the whole Rocky series. Stallone and Burgess Meredith were both great. And supposedly a lot of that scene was improvised.
I was watching that scene the other day an was questioning if Mick was crying (which seemed a little out of character) as he left Rocky's place. You could see how rejected he was when Rock opened his door, only to find Mickey still there, then shutting the door again. Rocky did have a point by angrily calling him out on the fact that he felt that Mick treated him like crap and now suddenly wants to be his trainer.
I was reminded of a time in my late teens when one of our friend's father would treat us all like s#it. Never, never had a nice thing to say, just gave us dirty looks whenever we were over, insults, stuff like that. One night, his son (who we hardly knew) broke into my apartment in the middle of the night on some weird drug binge. Cops were called, he got arrested blah de blah. I get a call the next night and suddenly, the father is all nice, cheery, cordial, offering to take us out for steaks. I was still up in the air whether to press charges (I didn't) but took the opportunity to blast him out of the water. The guy actually passed away not too long ago but man - it felt good to make him eat his own dong for a bit.
mickey was upset with rocky because rocky chose to focus on collecting instead of boxing. at the same time when rocky had a shot at the title mickey had to swallow his pride and try to become rocky's manager... you can hear him mutter "i'm 76 years old...". mickey was almost as broke as rocky, living in a slum in philly and looking for a way out at 76. in part 5 theres a very touching scene where mickey gives rocky his favorite thing in the world, which is a cuffling that rocky marciano gave him. also in part 2 he gave rocky a job at his gym. mickey wasnt such a bad guy really.
I like scream's comment. Here's what it all comes down to, folks: Let's say Rocky never gets offered a shot at the title and he's still just Rocky-the no-name guy fighting in clubs for fifty bucks a match. You think Mickey still would have gone over to Rocky's apartment and made nice with him? No way.