Though it takes some time to get going, Yolo is a great Rocky-riff, with a solid spin on the original idea.
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There are certain movies that filmmakers love to riff on. Die Hard is my favorite example. One person versus a series of highly competent attackers in a closed environment trying to save as many lives as possible. That's how you get Passenger 57 and the most watchable movies of Steven Seagal's career (the Under Siege flicks). The formula of the movie is so strong that you can change a lot of the surrounding elements and make it work. And one of those movies is Rocky, a blueprint for underdog movies around the world. Including a smash hit from mainland China, today's movie Yolo.
The Setup
The film centers around 30-something Leying who is a decade long rut. She doesn't have a job, she's generally unhealthy, and her relationships are all strained at best, or actively hostile at worst. So when she's finally pushed too far, Leying decides to set out on her own, find a job, and maybe find her purpose at a local boxing gym...
Yolo is an interesting movie. Because it's a movie that is actively embracing and refuting the Rocky setup at the same time. However you feel about the original Rocky, the movie's core appeal is about living up to your potential. Rocky starts off the movie living a life that's beneath who he is as a person, aka he's a heavy for local gangsters and never-been boxer who's also a good guy. So when he finally commits to something instead of just wandering through his life, thanks to a great coach, a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a woman he wants to prove himself to, it changes his life.
So when Leying takes a job, starts doing sessions at a boxing gym, and starts to get close with a boxing instructor, that definitely looks like the Rocky tract. But is that really the direction Leying should be going?
An undercurrent going through the movie is that Leying is both apathetic about her life and doesn't have a strong sense of self. She doesn't push back when people mistreat her and puts all of her focus, at least initially, into pleasing other people. The point being, Leying isn't doing all of this for her. She's doing it for other people. And as a people-pleaser myself, I can tell you that this will set you up for a lot of disappointment if any of that outside approval falters.
This is the movie's main twist, and also what makes it so emotionally satisfying. That Leying's journey isn't about gaining love or approval from others, but about finding love for herself and developing a sense of self. That could mean getting into shape or pouring all of herself into goals. But they're her goals. So even when Leying undergoes a giant physical transformation, the people who really care about her notice the change in her as a person, not just weight she's lost.
Is that the only big difference? Nope.
Another big difference is that Yolo plays a lot more like a comedy than a traditional sports drama. So instead of the grounded seventies look or the intense framing of movies like other films in the franchise like Creed, the majority of Yolo is brightly lit and features strong bits of physical comedy and the majority of the side characters are all one-note jokes. That includes Leying's potential love interest who is just sad sack personified, his fellow trainer who is a giant flirt trying to impress all of his female clients, or Leying's shithead boss at a restaurant.
I think this works for this movie and makes a lot of its cheesy dramatic flourishes go down easier, and also means that when the movie becomes a pure sports drama in the third act, it's reflecting Leying's mental/personal shift.
Admittedly some of these transitions are more than a bit clumsy and there's a lot of moments played for laughs that feel like they should be taken more seriously.
Still when this movie hits its stride it really works, so much so that when it borrows the Rocky theme it feels appropriate. Because, deep-down Ling Jia, our star, director and one of our co-writers, understand that core appeal: the power and joy of living up to your potential.
The Verdict: A Solid Rocky-Riff
Though it takes some time to get going, Yolo is a great Rocky-riff, with a solid spin on the original idea. 7/10
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