Rocketman

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.

Mad Mike is a maverick, a man who deep down inside knows he has failed in life and desperately seeks something to be remembered by. Even if it kills him.

This film is one of those rare gems where you get up close and personal with the hero of the story and, no matter their peculiar view of the world, you root for them. Why? Because you see who they truly are: a human being. Mike may think science does not exist and that NASA is part of a global conspiracy, but deep down inside he is just a hurt man struggling to find some kind of meaning in life. We applaud his spirit and bravery and shake our head bewildered at his outrageous claims. But just because we don't always agree with him doesn't mean we can't like him. And that is what the film is really about to me: Connecting to one another despite different opinions or even world views. In a time where partisanship and Trumpian rhetoric divide the country even further, understanding a man like Mike can only help bring us back together. Mike's story is a perfect allegory for what America needs: To listen to one another again, to find acceptance and tolerance despite disagreements. Why not applaud a flat-earth daredevil for his bravery who has the balls to climb into a home-made rocket instead of just knocking him for his idiotic world view. Time to find good things in people again and not get stuck on beliefs. To infinity and beyond.

I thought this was very entertaining. Filmography was exceptional and was a non-bias look at an example of one flat-earthers' lifestyle. Funny too.

A very well made movie. Gripping and watchable from the start to finish. Shows the triumph of the human spirit to make things happen, although it also shows the happy go lucky devil may care aspects too. A balancing act.

Sadly Mike died after the making of this movie in his next rocket launch. On February 22, 2020, Hughes died near Barstow, California, following the crash of a rocket he was piloting. During launch, the rocket's parachute, which was designed for landing, appeared to deploy early and detach from the craft.

His PR manager said "We used flat Earth as a PR stunt... Flat Earth allowed us to get so much publicity that we kept going! I know he didn't believe in flat Earth and it was a schtick."

Long live the memory of Mad Mike Hughes RIP.

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.