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In an industry that loves to tell stories of how America used to be or how it wants to see itself currently, Baker bravely holds up the mirror of reality to a denial driven medium. He can do this without reproach because the sincerity and truthfulness of his characters resonate so deeply as to make them unassailable. In each of his films we see characters shoved to the margins of the masses, but as his body of work grows we realize these people are not so ancillary but instead, quilted together, make up the mosaic of our true identity.

His latest subject is Mikey Saber, played exquisitely by Simon Rex, a former porn star returned to his long forgotten small town of Texas City. Mikey is affable enough but also shamelessly self-serving and utterly incapable of feeling any personal responsibility. We learn in the first 10 minutes of the film that our "hero" is in fact our villain, but we are given no respite from following him through his deceits for the entirety of the runtime. There are no moments of saving grace or deeper understanding of his character. Because he never aims to understand himself. He lies and embellishes his accomplishments, yet there is a weird earnestness to the proceedings. He is narcissistic but not intentionally malicious. There seem to be no ends to his means outside of self-preservation and a padding of his irreparably broken ego. His lies he tells, how quickly he is to interject his modest celebrity, and his propensity for deflecting all blame, all serve only his own fragility.

It's a singular character study and this is all without mentioning a single other character, several of which could carry their own film. Most notable is the nearly 18 year old girl, Strawberry, who is the aim of the nearly 50 year old, Mikey's, affection. She represents that awkward cross-section many young women exist in between maturity and naiveté. She is smarter, brighter, deeper, and certainly better than Mikey and, yet, considerably less wise. You unfortunately can't fake wisdom, you simply have to earn it. She falls prey to his promises and will likely be the next victim of his uncalculated chaos.

The movie has so much insight to offer while also being outlandishly funny. All of this has not even scratched the surface of the psychology of this movie. From the subtle but very intentional political commentary, to the examination of what "physical endowments" can have on the masculine psyche and confidence, this movie is deceptively weighty, while also being a trashy good time.

Red Rocket was mostly a psychological horror experience for me personally since I am a porn performer of 12 years and related to WAY TOO MUCH with main character Mikey Saber. For brief moments, I was wondering if Sean Baker had been lurking my career and was pulling details from it, but, realistically I know that's VERY unlikely. That aside, I am very confident that I'll never be on Mikey Saber's level (so low) otherwise.

Mikey Saber is a fully despicable lead character. This is definitely one of "those" movies. There aren't really ANY characters that are quite likable - each one only adds to the pileup of utter discomfort. To me, that's this film's primary strength - it is extremely discomforting and remains consistently throughout it's rather lengthy runtime (perhaps a little too long considering it is nearly plotless and there's really no conflict until the final leg of the film). Simon Rex does a great job with the character and definitely puts in the strongest performance in the movie. Everyone else is sufficient but not super memorable (well, ok, Suzanna Son is really memorable too).

The movie spends a lot of time focusing on Saber's efforts in "making it happen" with an underage girl. Things go further than I expected and it certainly adds to the discomfort and the "cringe value" of the movie, which I can only imagine is what Baker wanted to make people feel. I am about 100% sure this element of the movie will rub a lot of people the wrong way, and may cause some "controversy" or general distaste towards the movie.

The movie is not immensely funny but it does have plenty of legitimately comedic moments sprinkled throughout. I had my chuckles here and there, but out of the entire row of people sitting behind me, I don't think I heard a single one of them make a peep once - that in itself was kind of disturbing.

It definitely seems like Sean Baker either did his research or simply has always been paying attention to the porn industry. I did enjoy all the legit name drops and industry references. "Remember the time Kristina Rose almost broke it off?" In the end, the movie really made me just wonder what made Sean Baker feel inspired to tell THIS story specifically. It does kind of feel like a pretty odd way to follow up The Florida Project, which seemed to have so much heart in it - it was so endearing. This one mostly feels seedy through and through. I didn't really find that it had much that would ever make someone want to watch it more than once, nor did I find much of a message in it, but I did like it for its commitment to being exactly what it is - and that's a daring, trashy, absolutely cringe-inducing movie that makes straight male pornstars seem like the scum of the earth.

*Watched at Cannes 2021*

American indie-darling Sean Baker has always worked on the ground level when making his films. He often casts non-professional actors and plants his audience in the ironically unglamorous parts of America, such as the dingy Magic Castle motel located next to Walt Disney World. Baker's budgets are small, with "The Florida Project'' carrying a total cost of $2,000,000, which is roughly the amount spent to have Arnold Schwarzenegger speak one hundred words in "T2: Judgement Day." Now in 2021, Baker is back to shine a light on lower-America with "Red Rocket'', which debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Opening with the catchy rhythms of NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye", former pornstar Mikey Saber has returned to the deadbeat town of Texas City. Mikey had been at the top of the porn scene for several years but eventually found his way out the door with some questionable career moves. With nowhere else to go, he begs and pleads his way into crashing with his former pornstar ex-wife Lexi, who, like him, was a shining star that has fallen back to the ground and lives with her poverty-stricken mother in the middle of nowhere.

Mikey is a guy who always has a plan, but never a way to execute it. He does have a plan to get back to Los Angeles and revitalize his career, but it requires him to reconnect with some characters from his past who hate his guts.

Both literally and metaphorically, "Red Rocket" is a ballsy movie. Baker has always found a fascination with the seedier side of America, which is the side that is often unauthentically portrayed in Hollywood (I'm looking at you "Hillbilly Elegy"). His characters are often complicated and morally ambiguous, such as Halley from "The Florida Project". But Baker doesn't wallow in their pain and use it as a ploy for sympathy (again, looking at you "Hillbilly Elegy"). Instead, he wants us to understand their desperation and see how so many people in this situation can rationalize their actions.

"Red Rocket" doesn't break from that developmental mold when it comes to his supporting characters. In Mikey's journey back to the top, he rekindles with a weed queen that sees her business as a safety net for her family. Lexi and her mother are both addicted to opiates due to her mother's medical condition and the distracting peace that the drugs bring from the painful world.

With these characters on the brink of society, Baker uses their situation to subtly explain the unforeseen popularity of Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election. Characters are often seen slumped at home in their couches with the television set to Fox News and its neverending coverage of the Republican candidate and his "mass appeal". Baker's illustration about the allure of Trump doesn't try to be a grand statement for America itself, which turns out to be a good thing as the message comes together cleaner than the hamfisted ones found in mainstream media.

But while Baker respects his supporting cast, his relationship with Mikey is more complicated. Mikey is the cinematic combination of Dirk Diggler and Howard Ratner. He's a person that you love that you hate and hate that you love. You find yourself intrinsically drawn to him because of his drive and charm. But as the film progresses and Mikey's grand plan comes closer into view, your attitude towards him starts to waver.

Much of that emotional response comes from Simon Rex's brilliant performance, whose most prominent role up until now has been a recurring supporting part in the "Scary Movie" franchise and some pornographic solo scenes in a series of straight-to-video gay porn releases. Almost as if he has lived the life of Mikey throughout stretches of his career, Rex seems to instinctively know how to play this type of sleazy charmer.

While it does contain perfect casting, "Red Rocket" is not a perfect movie as a whole. With a runtime of 124 minutes, the film contains enough material for a tighter 90-minute story. The middle hour is the victim of this bloatedness, with long stretches given for light material. Still, the overly fatty meat on this movie's bones does give Rex and the cast more than enough to chew on, resulting in an emotional rollercoaster that couldn't be replicated by bigger productions.

Slotting in nicely with Baker's filmography and that of distributor A24, "Red Rocket" is one hell of a ride from beginning to end. There may be some potholes along the way, but they're not enough to stop this film from reaching its satisfying destination.

Red Rocket continues Sean Baker's streak of deeply empathetic cinema, but instead of using his lens to capture the inner lives of the downtrodden and vulnerable, as he's done in his previous films, we are instead let into the mind of a con man and serial abuser.

Mikey Saber starts out like many a Sean Baker protagonist- likable and magnetic if a little rough around the edges. But where we would usually find over the course of the film that this magnetism is masking a deep sadness or complexity, we instead come to learn that Mikey Saber's charm masks something much more insidious. We, the audience, can only watch in horror as he drags a naive teenager into his schemes and leaves behind a slew of ruined lives in his wake. It's a challenging and often frustrating film, but like its wily protagonist, it was able to charm me and win me over, purely by the virtue of its chutzpah.

I looked up Red Rocket on Urban Dictionary and hahaha isn't that an accurate movie title.

Man oh man Sean Baker, you are quite something. Just like Florida Project, this was a gorgeous and phenomenal movie.

Simon Rex was a force to be reckon with. There wasn't any moment where I was bored with the guy. The dialogues along with his incredible charisma propelled the pace of this movie to become exciting and a bit anxiety-filling. Even more, he made what already a great script more investing.

The cinematography again was out of this world. A poor neighborhood in Texas somehow looked like a dream world.

Again, Sean Baker used the bizarre colors, cute shapes, and isolated locations of the houses to suggest a fantastical and ambiguous interpretation of the story. I think for this part, Red Rocket had a slight edge over Florida Project because the ending in Red Rocket was smoother and made more sense.

Overall, an absolutely magnetic movie. 9.5/10.

6/10 - Simon Rex proves that he is certainly an actor capable of drama films and someone to take seriously, but as the credits abruptly began to roll, I could not help but ponder what the meaning of the film was and why I spent over 2 hours investing in it.

I watched the movie because the trailer mentioned it would be about porno. Then as I watched the movie I realized; the trailer did not say it was going to be about porno it just said it was about a porn star.

It's kinda funny cause if I'm not mistaken, the movie's lead, Simon Rex had a promising career as one of the icons of an MTV generation until he got caught in a porn scandal of his own. I feel like that may have had something to do with director, Sean Baker picking Rex and I also think this had something to do with Rex being so good as Mike, a male porn star with a long career filled with many highs and glories, but fell apart really fast and with nothing to fall back on he comes back to a place he never thought he come back to because he had no choice.

As a movie, I can compare Red Rocket to a roller-coaster ride. It's a nice exciting climb all the way to the top and when it starts going down its fun, but the overall free fall is actually lackluster.

The problem here is that the movie is a character piece. This film relies heavily on Simon Rex playing Mike and our focus on who is character is, to the point that the story being told is sacrificed for it. The importance of the movie is watching Rex play this character, and in that portrait of the character we got a completed movie, but the way the story was laid out. It does not feel complete.

I do love the rawness of the film. Rex is the only actor I know by name and the fact that I know him at all as an actor ages me. It's possible that other actors in this movie did things I'm unfamiliar with but as far as I'm concern it looks like Sean Baker just used the random folks, he found in the small Texas town this movie's about.

Even if I'm a bit iffy about how the story stops short, I'm satisfied with this movie because it was an interesting story that stayed interesting from beginning to end.

Sean Baker is quickly rising to the top of my favourite directors list. His movies are so quiet and unassuming, yet they linger in my mind for days and days.

He tells stories about real people living in real America that resonate against fluffy films with forced morals and shiny stars who live in perfect houses.

Red Rocket tells the truth of a seedy character who is both charismatic (to those who are naive enough and needy enough to buy into him) and repugnant in his self-serving narcissism.

Not much happens in this film but I was not bored for a second of it. The characters are so well played and well conceived it is riveting.

Bravo Mr. Baker! Please keep making brilliant movies.

Red Rocket is one of those films that will most likely leave you speechless at the end.

The story is full of drama, very funny, deeply uncomfortable at times, but the central performance from Simon Rex brings everything together perfectly, turning what could have been a very awkward screenplay into something rather spectacular and captivating.

Barely off screen for a second, Rex manages to bring a certain amount of charm to what is a truly reprehensible character, in a way that only the most accomplished of actors can do. Suzanna Son matches him perfectly and gives a terrific performance. Without these great performances this film would have completely fallen apart, but not a single cast member was out of place.

Sean Baker's direction is excellent. It has such an arty feel, really demonstrating how low budget films can punch above their weight with a talented director at the helm. The setting was perfect and the style and tone were spot on.

An absolutely terrific film which vastly exceeded my expectations.

Directed by Sean Baker (same guy behind The Florida Project), Red Rocket is a gritty, funny slice-of-life about Mikey Saber, a washed-up adult film star who slinks back to his Texas hometown like a raccoon in a leather jacket. Simon Rex, who you might remember from his goofy MTV/Vine days, kills it in this role - charming, pathetic, infuriating, and somehow still magnetic. It's like watching a human car crash in slow motion, and you just can't look away. The movie doesn't follow a traditional plot so much as it vibes its way through Mikey's manipulative antics and awkward reunions - with his estranged wife and a teenage girl named Strawberry, who might just be his ticket back to fame. (Yeah. It gets uncomfortable. So.) What makes Red Rocket stand out is how real it feels. Baker uses real locations, a lot of non-actors, and that washed-out, sunburnt cinematography that makes everything feel lived-in and sticky. Like you can almost smell the dollar store candles and fried dough. It's not a movie for everyone - it's messy, icky, and the main character is a disaster. But it's also sharp, satirical, hilarious, and unafraid to go there. If you like your movies polished and heroic, run far away. But if you're into raw, unfiltered storytelling with a big side of "what did I just watch?" - then Red Rocket might just rocket to the top of your indie faves list. My verdict? One sleazy thumb way, way up.

A Nasty film about a washed up guy doing bad stuff without really any story other than that. Its not going anywhere and thats why its not interesting. It doesnt have any jokes or really funny moments either the ambiance is more dramatic. Simon rex is just playing himself. A washed up guy doing teenagers and showing off about it. Only difference is in the movie he doesnt do coke and in real life he raps about porn instead of acting in it so he fits the role well. The other actors are ok but they dont have to do anything special they are just talking (trash) the whole movie. A boring movie.

Dont get the high ratings at all.

What a waste of time. The film totally collapses during the last thirty minutes.

Granted, it's a pretty grungy film. Nobody to like. I realize "that's" the point, but I finished it, and regretted the decision.

Basically, you should just watch "Boogie Nights." It addresses the porn industry so much more efficiently.

Simon Rex is good in the lead role. He deserves some good parts.

The ending is weird. I honestly have no idea, what actually happened.

The production is low-budget, and technically, handled well.

But overall, the whole thing feels really "empty." I was expecting more nuance.

A disappointment.

It's great that movies like this can still be made; shot on 16mm, no big name stars, much of the cast aren't even professional actors, very adult themes, almost experimental, risky. However this time the risk doesn't pay off and at 129 minutes it's at least 29 minutes too long. I appreciate that they're going for a naturalistic documentary feel but the plot, such as it is needs a bit more narrative drive. Instead of drive we get narrative drift, the characters just drift along aimlessly and while this is true to life the filmmakers lost track that this is supposed to be entertaining. It's still worth a watch though and although the main protagonist is sketchy af I'd like to see him return. What happened in LA previous to this movie? There's sure to be a great story there.

I'm seeing lots of reviews here claiming that Strawberry is underage and that this is a pedo movie. Complete cobbler's. The age of consent in Texas is 17 which is the characters age. She isn't a virgin either and she's also an experienced cannabis smoker, so not so naive either.

A guy who has only been known as an actor for appearances in the absurd Scary Movie films and got his start in the pornography business provides one of the most brilliant character portrayals of 2021. You can't make it up, but Mr. Indie and A24 darling Sean Baker makes it possible in his new film Red Rocket. Once again, Baker devotes himself to an under-the-radar demographic, and once again he does so with a lot of realism and attention to detail.

The former porn hit Mikey Saber is unemployed and penniless. So he has no choice but to move back in with his estranged wife and her mother in the ghettos of Texas City, who really want nothing more to do with him. But with charm and sex appeal, Mikey manages to settle back in. At the beginning, he also wants to become a better person and is desperately looking for workers. In the end, he finds work with a drug family. Privately, Mikey's life also quickly gets out of hand when he meets an underage girl and immediately spies a way back into his old profession. From what I wrote about the lead actor at the beginning of the review, it sounds as if Simon Rex is playing himself here. That may be partly true, but he does it with so much charisma that I couldn't get enough of this loathsome character. He starts off on a kind of redemption arc, but it quickly becomes clear that Baker probably doesn't believe that such people can change. Because that's exactly what Mikey doesn't do in this film. His actions and statements are despicable, he harms everyone around him, and on top of that he believes he is the greatest hero. All qualities I despise in people. Still, I couldn't get enough of watching Rex ride his bike or run around stark naked with a fake penis to the musical accompaniment of the song "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC. The rest of the cast, largely made up of real residents of the area (which is how Baker casts some of his films) are also great, with Suzanna Son in particular giving a great application letter for the future as Mikey's naive love interest.

This may all sound very crazy and possibly off-putting, but in my opinion it is wildly original. In contrast to The Florida Project, Baker here relies on a mixture of a wide variety of genres, some of which are reminiscent of films like Boogie Nights or Uncut Gems. Red Rocket stressed me out, amused me and made me think. The courage to be explicit also pays off in full, as the film is precisely about people from this industry and with this background. Until the last ten minutes, Red Rocket was on course to become my favourite film of the year already. Unfortunately, Baker dwells too long on uninteresting and one-dimensional characters at the end. The ending is then again really strong and caught me off guard with its ambivalence. Definitely the first surprise of 2022!

Does those nude scenes necessary? The storyline isn't the most interesting. And the ending.... so bad. I felt like I just wasted over two hours. Instead of shooting so many scenes at the donut shop, I would like to see what happen after he brought her to LA. Then that would be interesting.

A whimsical yet realistic portrayal of the american underclass. The first half of it was quite a lot of nothing, luckily I found it hilarious at times. Perhaps its my low sense of humor but I found Mikey's shamelessness to be quite funny and its all consistently there throughout the runtime. Even though the cast aren't all professionals and some of them are first timers, they deliver a great and convincing performances. The characters also have unpretentious motivation and they're easy to understand. While it is a funny movie it is also a very sad story about a character who has a great hope for a better life but she puts all that hope into a messy narcissist that keeps running from his problems. The movie could be much better if everything that happens doesn't happen so easily and there should be more struggle for the main character. And if they polished it a little bit by cutting some unnecessary scenes. Still its Sean's best movie so far, the shots are amazing and its not empty, it has something to say about the places that are in it. It's also very cool to see how effectively Sean does his set up and pay off for the story.

It was good seeing him in the movies again, he was great in this. It's kind of ironic that he played this part. He was an actual porn star before he became an actor/rapper. If you liked this movie I suggest watching Sean Baker's earlier films. Tangerine and The Florida Project were both really good even though you kinda feel like taking a shower after watching them. Both films are very similar to Red Rocket..Anyways, this was a simple and authentic film with an original storyline and solid supporting cast. I don't necessarily think it will take home any Oscars but I'm sure it will win several other awards. 6 stars.

I really enjoy independent cinema, and I understand it's not for everyone. That's why it's independent and not the usual bluff stuff coming from Hollywood.

Red Rocket is a masterpiece because it's raw, cruel, funny and creepy. All mixed and set in Texas.

Script is good, acting is superb (coming from mostly unknown cast) and the settings are perfect. So, overall a good slice of independent cinema. Don't expect your usual blockbuster here.

This is a movie about narcissistic personality disorder, misogyny, grooming and very sad human lives. It bothers me that you never get to find out if he ruined her life or if she managed to get away from him in time.

The acting is great though, giving it a 6 because of that only.

This film's about an *ssh*le who eventually gets what he deserves. However, this *ssh*le has a very eccentric and hilarious personality.

I enjoyed this film. It was very creative, fresh, and a fun theatre experience. However there were a few moments that felt unnecessary and didn't serve any purpose.

The technical aspects of the film were beautifully done. Amazing cinematography and amazing editing and audio work that embellished the comedic moments equally as much as the suspenseful ones. Even the more sexual moments carried a sense of humor because of the editing that put those scenes together.

However, despite the technical moments, story moments that seemed crucial at the time of viewing became obsolete and unnecessary. There were a few times where I questioned why something that had a lot of buildup never went anywhere in the future.

At the same time, there were story elements implemented that were blatantly intended to make the viewer uncomfortable. However, in making me uncomfortable, they also led to me not liking the characters especially in the more intimate moments where I should've been rooting for them.

Pretty nice film overall, but the little elements made it drag and feel incomplete.

Sometimes movies come along ... that seem like they are documentaries ... that have people in them, that ... well it doesn't feel like the actors are acting in this. Which is saying quite something - in a good sense! I can't imagine every little thing being in the script dialog wise ... there seems to be a lot of improvising going on ... but also in a good sense. Unless you don't like people who talk over each other and maybe do not connect with each other as much as you would hope they do.

It is tough to not like the main character here - but he really is only looking out for himself. Still when you see him at the beginning (with a song from a boygroup nonetheless) ... this is just amazing ... and weird and fun ... and just plain crazy.

Now there is quite some nudity in this, but even though there is also a lot of sex talk, this is not meant to arouse or titilate people. It is just showing the side of the character ... and society of course. How we can fall for the wrong people ... or let them drag you down too. There is especially one scene, that is so harsh and vile ... that is almost is the excuse for another despicable act that happens the other way around towards the end.

An ending that I reckon is a new beginning ... which also probably just mirrors a past beginning ... because while a lot of things are not being spoken out (and we get told what happened by this charismatic lead, who also appears nude, if that is something worth noticing for you, frontal nudity too from him and I don't think he has anything to hide ... I mean be ashamed for) ... we can piece the puzzle together. We can undertand what happened ... and it may not entirely be what our main character would probably tell us ... fantasy, reality and social pressure collide ... and make this one of the best movies I've seen this year ...