Red Rover

Damon (Kristian Bruun) is one of those people who appears to have little outward self worth, and so muddles through life seemingly aimlessly, without ever really achieving anything important. He's living in the basement of Beatrice's (Meghan Heffern) home, his ex girlfriend, while she has a new live in lover. After working hard he gets sacked by his boss, and then meets Phoebe (Cara Gee) who persuades him to apply for a position as an astronaut to go and start a colony on Mars.

So that's the plot, but what's is about? It's about self. Damon's self worth is low, but his self esteem is high. He proves this time and again through the film, although his self worth is lifted somewhat after meeting Phoebe. It's almost a paradox that you can have high self esteem, but that does not allow you self worth. But to watch that in practice is to see someone who thinks nothing is worth bothering about, nothing can be gained, and yet they keep trying anyway. It's almost like they're driven to prove themselves wrong.

The ending of the film proves this point perfectly. What will be good for him would be to pursue the option he has in front of him. But he is instead pursuing a hopeless entanglement because his self esteem allows him to believe that if he succeeds he will raise his self worth. Critical self analysis would prove this to be untrue, but he is stuck in a psychological quest that he can't get out of. Some people might call it 'eternal hope with no likelihood of success.' I've not seen another film that I can recall which looks into this topic, but this one succeeds easily and is a go to for me if you want to understand Freud's definition of ego and superego.

The cast is awesome. Great to see Cara Gee again, she can lend her skills to anything and sings like an angel. But every main cast member does a great job and the pace is great with little wasted time or words in the whole film. I particularly like the way Damon remains pretty much the same character throughout the entire film, underscored by the very end, yet Phoebe is a changeling as is Beatrice. A beautiful film, well worth a solid 8 from me.

Fat whinger complains and has a tantrums all over the place. Overly verbal chick speaks random crap. He's too fat for space. He would never be chosen. They're both total losers. The movie is too undefined.

Nice little story about self-actualization, getting out of a rut, and coupling. Kristian Bruun is great as Damon. And Cara Gee, "The Expanse"'s Camina Drummer, is wonderful, and wow, she can really sing. Morgan David Jones' as Mark is incredibly annoying, almost enough to want to shut it off. Same with Joshua Peace's Brad character. One of those little movies that is fun to watch, I enjoyed it. I'd give it a 8/10

Just happened to pass this up. It stated it was a comedy. It stated is was PG13. The description was vaguely like the movie. So, I looked it up for any information. None worth mentioning like a plot that you see for a major movie on Wikipedia. All I really noticed was that the cast was Canadian. I figured from all this, it would be a fun quirky and like hearted film. There was nothing in this that remotely fit this. First, it needs to be rated R for the language and overt sexual instances. Second, there is no comedy in this, whatsoever. Third, I didn't know people in Canada could act this bad or this foul. You would make me embarrassed to be Canadian if I was Canadian. When I think of comedy in Canada, I think of Little Mosque on The Prairie or Corner Gas funny. I believe that Canadian cinema has been infected with the dull and vulgar drama that makes U. S. cinema reek when I see this mess. It started slow. The main character is a whining adult male child. You hate to see these types get cartoon level bullied in cartoons, but it's just fake and humorless in live action. No one in real life is that blatant in accepting bullying, and there are no bullies as blatant as the rest of the cast throughout the rest of the movie. This movie makes you want to punch someone, even if you are the most nonviolent person in the world. Then, there's the main characters moment to give his enlightening speech. Wow, you gave a U. S. government sounding save the world type of speech. It sounded so unbelievably fake coming from this actor (that's a word that least describes him). I don't know the indigenous woman that played his fantasy, but she... there's no words to describe the psycobable attitude she had. People like that are in padded rooms in real life or under conservatory supervision. And she's supposed to be a big name in Montreal? Then, the riding off into the sunset moment was another blah moment that just ended the movie, like the silly kung-fu movies of the 70s where the hero kick that kills the bad guy is the final shot of the movie. You blink, and your streaming service has already put you into the next movie. I really went into this movie wanting to enjoy it. Sugith Varughese was credited in this movie. He was another reason I wanted to see this. Now, I'm not Indian Canadian. I'm from the Midwest. So, why did he interest me. To those who watch Canadian TV and film, he was the main draw for this movie for me. He's the only one in the whole cast with any kind of real talent. You know, you click on an independent movie that is questionable you will watch. You look for names that are recognizable. If you don't see one, you're less likely to watch the movie. He is the recognizable person in this movie for me. If you watch Kim's Convenience, you know who he is. It's not like, I know this person from something. I knew he was in Kim's Convenience. Anyway, he can play some truly funny and somewhat aloof characters. Not here. His involvement was minimal. When he was shown, he was missable. I hope never to see another movie like this for the rest of my life. This put a chink into the body of Canadian film that has usually kept up standards. Truly slow, unappealing and too much language and vulgarity for the rating.

Watched this specifically to see Cara Gee doing something besides "The Expanse." She's fantastic in that btw, and delightful in "Red Rover." It's a very different role from the stern, powerful commander of Medina Station, which demonstrates a good range. Her character here (Phoebe) starts off as the stereotype "manic pixie," but proves to have more depth than expected. I do feel a little more background on her character would've been welcome, though if I'm being honest, the same could be said of the main character as well. The plot is enjoyable, combining a touch of science fiction with magical realism, what with the very unlikely things that occur. Suspend your disbelief and watch it. Extra credit for casting another "Expanse" alumna: Anna Hopkins has a minor role as Maya.