As far as sports movies go, "Rocky" hits you right in the solar plexus. Okay, as far as movie movies go. The halting, heartfelt romance with pet-shop gal Adrian, the hard falls, the sunset-hued bruises, the hanging slabs of meat doubling as punching bags. This movie is too much, and that's why we're so happy that American Cinematheque is throwing the 1976 classic on the big screen on Saturday, June 13, at The Aero; "Rocky II" will immediately follow.
With that in mind, and because we can't -- well, pretty much the whole universe can't -- think of Rocky in his sweaty grays running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at dawn without going to directly lump-in-the-throat-ville, we wanted to pause and pay homage to the Rocky fist pump.
Like the Vulcan salute, upon which we recently waxed rhapsodic, the Rocky fist pump is gesture that has become part of popular culture. Do a double overhead fist pump and people know immediately what movie you are mimicking. You don't even need a big hanging slab of beef nearby, or the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Here's a powerful fist pump, and a "yo" in our hearts, for the little guy winning and one timeless flick.
