Jergens’ scenes were cool. First time we see him, it’s in his office after news of Mack Lee Green’s hand injury. Apollo Creed and crew in tow, and now they need a new opponent; Ernie Roman fighting in France next week, he’s out; hell, get him Buddy Shaw, he’s ranked 5th- nope, went to Cali and gained 50 pounds.
I liked how Jergens was getting pissed and giving his CV— he didnt like Creed’s advisor bitching and the champ’s scolding; Apollo’s pacing and fuming at looking the fool after spending a cool milllion on publicity for this New Year’s Day 1976 Bicentennial gala spectacle. I think Jergens could’ve pushed harder on Shaw; give him 250 large, that might get Shaw’s ass off the couch, that’s good work if you can get it, and 5 weeks is enough time (shyt, Balboa ended up doing it and he would’ve done it for a side of beef, some beer, a hat, and enough money to buy Adrian some nice perfume so she could “smeel” nice.). Instead, Creed the showman comes up with an idea because he’s sentimental—a local pug gets a title shot. Jergens likes it because it’s “very American.” No, Mr Jergens, “it’s very smart.”
Good stuff from Jergens, and meeting Balboa for the first time was a good scene too, Rocky didn’t know what he was in for and the promoter offering him the chance of a lifetime. Jergens looked incredulously amused at Rock’s naïveté and innocence , thinking he’s there only for some sparring work with the champ, the palooka. Good job, Mr David.
Meanwhile, Rock prepares for his date with Paulie’s sister…presumably taking her somewhere other than the zoo.
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GolfnGuitars (2408)
a year ago
Great summary! Yes, it's funny how defensive and mad Jergens is when he's being criticized when we first see him..."I am a good promoter!" And how his mood toward Apollo changes when Apollo suggests giving "an unknown fighter" a shot at the title, as you mentioned.
You also mentioned how effective his scene was where he meets Rocky for the first time. He really butters Rocky up and flat-out lies to him ("Apollo's seen you fight.. he likes you!") to convince him to fight Apollo. And we never see Rocky say "Yes" to Jergens...I always thought that was interesting.
Finally, I've always thought that Jergens was probably "crooked" (although we never get full evidence of it). The way he lied to Rocky and how "fake" his relationship with Rocky seemed to be...it seemed to be awfully natural to him. That's why I think that short shot of Jergens I mentioned in the original post is genius..for all of his faults, I think Jergens knew boxing, and he saw something in Rocky there near the end of Round 2 that made him realize that this was going to be a real fight. I don't think he really took Rocky seriously before that moment...but he sure did afterward.
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