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.

First off, ignore the trolling one-star reviews. They don't get the pure subtle genius of this film and have no sense of humor. Now, onto the review: If you ask someone if they've heard about the guy who built a homemade rocket to launch himself in to prove the Earth is flat, most of the time, they'll respond with a "oh yeah, I've heard of that guy." Well, now, the film is out, and it's an enjoyable ride you'll want to take over and over again. Not so much about flat-Earth, in fact, very little of the film revolves around the theory. Moreso, it's a sweet tasting desert adventure of "launching something pretty cool."

'Mad' Mike made international headlines back in 2018 when he claimed he believed in the flat-Earth conspiracy theory and wanted to prove it for himself in one of the most absurd ways. Not with buying a plane ticket, not a balloon with a go-pro, but by launching himself in a rocket. Well, he got the world's attention, myself included, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen. Although the news clips showed the launch, they didn't show what happened to him and his crew up to that point. This documentary does exactly that. It shows the journey of mishaps when three, yes THREE, guys go about trying to launch a rocket in the desert. It's a cluster of epic proportions; a beautiful symphony of hilarious chaos.

A proclaimed self-taught rocket scientist/aka stuntman/aka Nascar crew guy/aka limo driver/aka cat lover/aka YouTube rabbit-hole dude, Mad Mike, enlists the help of his landlord Waldo Stakes, a retired handyman and self-taught rocketeer. Stakes is the brains of the operation and the cowboy hat is no joke as he constantly 'cowboys it up' to assist Hughes in his manhandled science experiment. Another character along for the ride recruited by Hughes is roadside onlooker/errand runner/Jesus freak initially deemed Pioneer Pat (from old YouTube videos), and now only goes by Pat, to assist Hughes in his latest publicity stunt or science experiment (oh sorry he doesn't believe in science - let's call it a "test").

The documentary initially plays like a character study starting at Hughes home in Apple Valley, CA, and morphs into dry wit comedy of the "squad" getting ready to put the rocket in the air. Painful to watch the hijinks at times, the directors do a brilliant job of sitting back, letting the cameras roll, and watching the characters, just...be. And therein lies the comedy such as a scene of Mad Mike not understanding how a trailer hitch works, but somehow he's going to launch himself in a rocket. Okay, I get it, I can't work my trailer hitch either. No worries Mad Mike. Interviews are shown as short intros to characters and we aren't bored checking our watches as someone tries to prove to Hughes the obvious fact: the Earth is round.

The tone shifts when the team reach the desert ghost town of Amboy, CA and takes the unexpected turn of a thiller when Hughes tries his initial launch. At times I struggled with liking someone like Mad Mike. He's an anti-intellectual who wants to inspire people: a paradox of a person. He's an anti-hero who by the end, you'll be on the edge of your seat cheering him on. Is he dangerous in his ideas? No, only misguided. Perhaps Hughes is truly giving "knowledge something to push off of," as the science school teacher says.

Love him or hate him, Mike has pure tenacity and the will to succeed. To what end? To achieve his goal of proving the Earth is flat (if he truly believes that)? For the vacant approval of fame and fortune so many seek? Or maybe just to see his cats again? As Mad Mike would say, "Hey, I don't have all the answers!" Looks like you're going to have to decide for yourself. Regardless, this is one for the ages.

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.

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.