Sean Baker, king of the beautifully mundane, returns to the silver screen following his hit "The Florida Project" (2017) with "Red Rocket" (2021), a raunchy, fun, balls-to-the-wall joyride on a one-speed bike. It tells the tale of porn star Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) as he returns to his old hometown and reunites with his ex and her mom following a stint of hard times (or, as Variety more aptly puts it, limp times.) As he tries to look for work, an effort thwarted by his narcissistic tendencies, he meets 17-year-old Raylee “Strawberry,” and he falls head-over-heels on a mission to use her as a way to get back to his life of acclaim. The film becomes an odd sort of character study which examines an unlikeable narcissist who, while obnoxious and off-putting, begs you (over and over) to love him.
The film teeters between the intentionally uncomfortable and the grimy reality of that intention all throughout, so that we the audience are left with a bad taste in our mouths. It is a criticism of the problematic, but a soft criticism, asthe film (and Baker) truly feel for each and every person in their cinematic adjacency. It is with an empathetic view that Baker tells his stories, even when it’s hard to feel empathy for those characters.
The film follows Mikey, who is goofy, confident, self-serving and horny. He is the wrecking ball which runs through the town of Texas City at large. He is haphazard in his use of others, nonchalant in his seduction of them. For comic veteran Rex, it is a pitch-perfect performance, and he is so good as both affable doofus and narcissistic quasi-bad-guy. He gives a full-bodied performance which fully takes over, and even when unlikeable, he is fully believable.
The cast for the rest of the movie also performs very well. Bree Elrod, who plays Mikey’s ex wife Lexi, and Suzanna Son, who plays Strawberry, light up the screen as warring roles (Lexi gritty and resigned, Strawberry bubbly and hopeful). The film is so focused on the characters, so focused on who each person is, that we can later see how they think of each other, and audiences watch as each person spirals around each other down the proverbial drain.
The cinematography, in true Sean Baker fashion, is beautifully open and light. The framing is used just as much for comedy as it is for drama, and there is a lot more flare to the filmmaking than past Baker movies. The music, too, is used to great effect, especially with NSYNC's “Bye Bye Bye”multi-use play throughout the movie to punctuate changes in the character’s circumstances or mental locations.
As said above, the greatest drawback to the movie is immediately hard to voice, because it is so intentional and self-aware. There is a relationship that develops between the jaded 39-year-old Mikey and the 17-year-old Strawberry. It is a relationship based in discomfort and hollow sincerity, and yet that is the point, to highlight that Mikey is not a good guy. I find it unsettling that I enjoyed the movie so much despite the discomfort of its central relationship, but this induced unsureness is the very point of the film and what makes it most successful. This is not to discount the comedy and very great humor that is rife throughout the movie. Just as uncomfortable as it is, the movie is truly a fun ride, full of a cast and crew that truly know what they are doing.
