Red Rocket
An uncomfortable, but also frequently humorous watch, that struggles to assert itself as compelling viewing despite some strong performances.
Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) is a washed up porn star. Returning to his hometown, broke and down-on-his-ass, the faded star finds no-one really wants him back. He begs his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) to let him stay with her. Despite her initial reluctance, they resume some of their old ways; from Mikey selling drugs to get by, to the family unit of Mikey, Lexi and her mother hanging out. Everything gets thrown into disarray, however, when Mikey meets Strawberry (Suzanna Son); a teenager working at a local donut store, who turns Mikey’s eye. Mikey sees not only a romantic liaison, but also as his way back into the porn industry, this time as a producer and manager for young Strawberry.
Directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project), Red Rocket is the sort of low budget exploratory filmmaking that so often produces indie success. Here too, we see an intriguing and compelling film about fallen stardom, and what you find throughout is that the film continues to hold your interest, even through some of the more problematic elements.
The other great thing about Red Rocket is that it is frequently funny. There’s a sly smirk on your face throughout, but there are also moments of downright hilariousness. The entire sequence with Mikey being shaken down in his bedroom, followed by a naked run through the Texan streets to the dulcet tones of N-Sync’s Bye Bye Bye generates solid belly laughs.
The issues with the movie stem primarily from two areas. Firstly, Red Rocket sets up quite a problematic relationship between Mikey and Strawberry. Mikey is so much older than the teenage girl that the whole sexual relationship between the two feels distinctly weird, creepy and wrong throughout. Add to that the layer of Mikey trying to coerce her to do porn, and the entire film leaves a little bit of a creepy film in your mouth.
Secondly, and perhaps more significantly for a film designed to in some ways provoke, the film drags a little. Not a lot happens for much of the runtime, with long stretches of beautiful, but occasionally boring, scenic shots, or shots of Mikey riding his bike through the Texas streets. It’s perfectly fine filmmaking, just a little boring.
