119. Red Rocket; movie review

 

RED ROCKET

Cert 18

130 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong sex references

A low budget, unknown cast, barely break-even box office takings in America and a subject matter which would make many reserved Brits balk.

How has Red Rocket found its way on to multiplex screens in the UK?

Sean Baker's film isn't bad but is the type of movie which would have been expected to go straight to DVD or streaming services.

But clearly, distributors found Simon Rex's rather large middle wicket irresistible.

Anyway Rex plays Mikey - a former award-winning porn star who, for reasons which are never clearly explained, finds himself back in his Texan home town with only the clothes on his back and bruises on his face.

Despite his down-at-heel appearance, he has an unswerving charm which he uses on his long estranged wife (Bree Elrod) and her mother (Brenda Deiss) to take him in, despite their considerable reservations.

Their reluctance is well placed - Mikey can't pay the rent and his solution is to begin drug-dealing.

Meanwhile, he goes for well-rehearsed chat-up lines to woo the pretty 17-year-old (Suzanna Son) who serves at a local doughnut shop.

Mikey tells lies, has questionable morals and is completely unreliable but women can't help falling for him.

And I could see why - apart from his expertise in the obvious area, he has an attractive confidence and gift of the gab.

The problem is that we never know what is going on behind the facade. The suspicion is that he is on the run from someone or something.

Red Rocket is unusual and its characters are interesting and well executed. It also gives a rare view of America's poverty line.

Sadly, it just doesn't have enough substance in its story and leaves too many unanswered questions to rate it higher.

Reasons to watch: Offbeat comedy drama

Reasons to avoid: Not enough laughs

Laughs: A couple of chuckles

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? According to a 2021 report, California is home to the highest number of porn performers. At one time, over 90% of American porn was made in the San Fernando Valley or Porn Valley as it’s often called.

The final word. Sean Baker: "When I explored the adult film world, I found very complex people with agency and reasons behind why they got into it, all different reasons. We had consultants on the film that were really adamant about this. They wanted Strawberry to be complex. They wanted Brie to be complex. And I definitely wanted to represent them in a way that my consultants would be happy about as well." Elle

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