Rocketman

Wonderful documentary that was well put together. This documentary does a great job of telling the story of these characters in a thought provoking and entertaining way.

I am trying to process what I just watched. I have no idea why we put it on, but we were riveted to the screen for 90 minutes. It was funny and it was sad, but I'm not sure that Mad Mike intended either of those things when he put himself in front of the camera. The highlight for us was the bumbling sidekicks.

Great insight and very intriguing. Beautifully shot. Toby and Michael let the subjects speak for themselves, no filter. Would like to see a follow-up.

Rocketman bears a resemblance to American Movie in all the good ways. Both films follow a person that is eccentric and captivating with a somewhat tenuous grip on reality. This documentary is largely entertaining for its comedic value, although the cinematography over the desert is beautiful. One scene shows Mike talking about the fact that he's broken people's ribs, thrown people through plate glass windows and ends with him saying, "but I'm a nice guy." Mike is totally oblivious to the irony of what he's just said which makes for a hilarious scene. I highly recommend this film, you'll laugh, you'll be entertained, but you shouldn't watch this film expecting to be educated on flat earth beliefs. 99.9% of us know this guy is off his rocker, by the end of the movie I'm not sure he fully believes the earth is flat or if its a publicity stunt. This film doesn't justify or denigrate his views, but let's the subject do the talking and let's the audience come to their own conclusion which for most of us will be that this guy has a few loose screws. The final quality that makes this a great documentary is that it is riveting at times. This guy is basically strapping himself to a rocket that could act like a bomb if things aren't done correctly. I was biting my nails at times afraid I'd watch this guy die. In fact, if he dies at some point doing this stuff it wouldn't surprise me. He's eccentric, misguided and a daredevil which all make for a great documentary.

When we asked director Toby Brusseau if he ever worried for Mike's life while shooting 'Rocketman', his reply was "Absolutely. All the time. Not only for Mike but for the crew as well".

Who could blame him? The 63 year-old retired daredevil and limo driver 'Mad' Mike Hughes' had hatched a crackpot plan to prove that the earth is flat by building a homemade rocket in his garage and launching himself into space.

When seeing Brusseau and co-director Michael Linn's ultimately hilarious film, viewers too will find themselves watching through their fingers. The buildup to the launch is a chaotic and unnerving mixture of half-baked science, visits to home depot, references to the bible and visibly accumulating work accidents as Mike appears on camera with an increasing array of cuts and bruises. Days before the launch, the rocket even falls off its trailer when being transported to the site.

But this was exactly what Brusseau had come for. When we asked if he'd expected this level of comedic value, he cryptically replied "I had an inkling". Inspired by 90s cult documentary « American Movie », the brilliant character study of two friends struggling to make a horror movie, Brusseau immediately took to the story when he came across Mike's plan online.

Documentary aficionados watching this film will undoubtedly confirm the resemblance. For a start, the cast is just as eclectic. There's Pat, a god-fearing, vaping, friendly neighbour who spends the entirety of the film trying to convince passersby that its now "peace in" and not "peace out". There's Waldo, the only person in the entourage who actually knows anything about rockets but unconvincingly maintains that he doesn't consider Mike a friend throughout. And then of course there's Mad Mike himself, who openly admits grieving more for the passing of his first cat Jojo than for his parents' death, doesn't believe in gravity and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest ever limousine ramp jump.

The trios's fractious relationship is a constant source of entertainment, leading to some unbelievable one-liners, such as Pat quashing Mike's unrealistic expectations by saying that "there ain't gonna be two thousand people watching, I mean shoot you only got 65$ on GoFundMe".

rocketman team.jpg As funny as this film is, it would be unfair to completely write off the team of ageing retirees as complete fools. Although the flat earth theory is obviously misguided, their real focus is on the construction of a genuine steam rocket - no mean feat. Brusseau reminds us that "they worked sun-up to sun-down" and there is no denying that Mike shows astonishing belief, commitment and bravery in completing the outlandish challenge he set himself.

He goes on to sum up the film brilliantly : "sure, it's comedic, but there's heart, drama, and a feel good ending". But, what Brusseau expected least during the filming was that he'd be cheering Mike on himself and by the end the film, we were too.