Red Rocket

Name: Red Rocket
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: December 10, 2021
Duration: 128 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Brandon Lott, Bree Elrod, Brenda Deiss, Brittney Rodriguez, Ethan Darbone

2021

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 50 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 50 Ratings

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Red Rocket

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Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: December 10, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Brandon Lott, Bree Elrod, Brenda Deiss, Brittney Rodriguez, Ethan Darbone, Judy Hill, Lindsey Fuller, Marlon Lambert, Sam EidsonVicky, Simon Rex, Suzanna Son

Summary: Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) is a washed-up porn star who returns to his small Texas hometown, not that anyone really wants him back.

Director: Sean Baker

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 128 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Donald Clarke

Mar 11, 2022

For all the sinister undercurrents, Red Rocket is hilarious throughout. Read full review

Vince Mancini

Dec 1, 2021

Baker’s indelible portrait has the natural rebelliousness of characters who refuse to perform the societal script they’ve been handed. Read full review

Natalia Keogan

Sep 29, 2021

By way of candid humor, a magnetic performance from Rex and Baker’s careful attention for authenticity, Red Rocket is a sympathetic profile of a porn star past his prime. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Jul 14, 2021

With Red Rocket, Sean Baker has given us an adult American pastoral, essentially a comedy, and another study of tough lives at the margin, close in spirit to his lo-fi breakthrough Tangerine. Read full review

Matthew Dougherty

Oct 1, 2021

Director Sean Baker continues his strong career of shedding light on the fringes of American society with incredibly human stories. The undeniable center of Red Rocket, however, is a powerful turn from Simon Rex. Read full review

Josh Larsen

Dec 1, 2021

Rex, meanwhile—an actor and former VJ with a brief early stint in adult entertainment—delivers an unequivocally great comic performance. Simultaneously sweet and icky, he gives the character a light, even gentle spirit that’s at odds with the materialist manner with which he thinks about and engages in sex. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Dec 21, 2021

The film, whose title may or may not refer to a slang term for a dog’s erection, often teeters between compassion and something that feels perilously close to cultural voyeurism. Read full review

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User Reviews

AceZachRocks

Dec 12, 2021

A masterful film, about a manipulative but likeable **** leading to his eventual downfall and rise. It shows not only a funny and well paced beautiful looking film but shows us sort of the opposite of what occured to Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems while he had bad luck lots of times it seems toA masterful film, about a manipulative but likeable **** leading to his eventual downfall and rise. It shows not only a funny and well paced beautiful looking film but shows us sort of the opposite of what occured to Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems while he had bad luck lots of times it seems to be on Mikey's side. I love the supporting cast a lot as well. Simon Should be Oscar Nominated and so should this screenplay and cinematography it's a gorgeous Simon Rex film but the buzz is no where near where Florida project was so this won't make it to award shows sadly but damn is it one of my new favorites. Thank You Sean and Simon. 10/10. These other reviewers just didn't get it trust me. If this trailer interested you I think you will love it.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

RMckay

Mar 6, 2022

Another exceptional delivery by the master realist Sean Baker. Highly enjoyable as usual, due to Baker's brilliant techniques of realism, which is always employed whether it be Tangerine, Florida Project etc... Using non-actors filming things in real places and not sets. It all makes forAnother exceptional delivery by the master realist Sean Baker. Highly enjoyable as usual, due to Baker's brilliant techniques of realism, which is always employed whether it be Tangerine, Florida Project etc... Using non-actors filming things in real places and not sets. It all makes for very candid watching, which makes the story all the more relatable and charming. Baker nails this one! I feel it is his best yet. This film is so easy to love. Baker is the 21st century John Cassavetes on digital. The truest of realism, sometimes so awkward it's cringeworthy... but such is life, at times.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Dec 30, 2021

Director Sean Baker’s previous films are Tangerine and The Florida Project (my review), both of which have a gritty, guerilla feel and unique casts (many of whom are not actors). He continues his love of working (or in this case non-working) class people in low-rent situations. Simon RexDirector Sean Baker’s previous films are Tangerine and The Florida Project (my review), both of which have a gritty, guerilla feel and unique casts (many of whom are not actors). He continues his love of working (or in this case non-working) class people in low-rent situations. Simon Rex stars as an over-the-hill porn star who returns to his small hometown in Texas, where he tries to reconnect with the people he left behind. There are lots of loose, coarse interactions with a variety of sketchy types, but it’s Rex’s film. His manic character is both charming and dreadful (his roller coaster revelation is especially poignant). Newcomer Suzanna Son, as the sweet redhead Strawberry, is resplendent on the screen. While the pacing never drags, the film could have used some tightening, but the cavalcade of gritty characters, dominated by Rex’s portrayal, are what make the film worth watching. FYI, the title is slang for a dog’s erection, which is NOT explained in the movie, so I'll leave it to your imagination.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bertobellamy

Apr 24, 2022

As I was watching 'Red Rocket', I couldn't stop thinking about 'Zola', which I just happen to watch during the same week. Although both are dark comedies, their styles are completely different. But, at their core, the two of them explore how sex work becomes a way to "pursue a dream" in theAs I was watching 'Red Rocket', I couldn't stop thinking about 'Zola', which I just happen to watch during the same week. Although both are dark comedies, their styles are completely different. But, at their core, the two of them explore how sex work becomes a way to "pursue a dream" in the deep USA; to ascend to the top and leave everything behind. These portraits of social decadence — and I could also add 'American Honey' — show the transformative power of money, either for good or bad, but mostly for bad. 'Red Rocket,' of course, is the greatest example: a predatory douchebag hungry for more traps an all-American girl and incepts her "THE dream." But what I loved about this film is how Mikey, the charismatic but sinister main character, just stays the same as when we meet him first: alone and without anything. With no money in his pocket, the dream is no more. He may have fooled some people, but life has finally fooled him for good.

If you want to see something as good as this, check out the Mexican film "Ok, Está Bien...," which portrays a very similar character but in a different context.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Voodoo123

Mar 15, 2022

Remarkably well textured drama/comedy with an excellent cast of mostly unknowns delivering memorable performances. Simon rex is super as the lead and i was often taken aback by the sharp dialogue and its delivery. The pacing direction and editing were excellent.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

moviemitch96

Dec 25, 2021

In this raunchy indie comedy, and directed by Sean Baker ('The Florida Project'), Simon Rex stars as Mikey Saber, a washed up porn star who returns to his small Texas hometown in hopes of getting by and starting anew. There, he encounters his estranged wife, drug dealers, job-hiringIn this raunchy indie comedy, and directed by Sean Baker ('The Florida Project'), Simon Rex stars as Mikey Saber, a washed up porn star who returns to his small Texas hometown in hopes of getting by and starting anew. There, he encounters his estranged wife, drug dealers, job-hiring difficulty, and a potential new romantic interest in a young 17-yr-old donut shop girl. Baker's the kind of director who specializes in what I like to refer to as "white-trash cinema", films that specialize in detailing the lives of the lower class and ghetto small towns and the poor sleazy people that live there. He did this with 'The Florida Project' as well, and he does it again here to somewhat amusing effect. The film starts off humorous and intriguing enough, but the further it goes on, the more trashy, sleazy, and all-around smutty and gratuitous it becomes to the point of no return. I couldn't have cared last about any of these hicks, and while Rex undeniably gives a confident, albeit rather cocky (no pun intended) lead performance, even he's near impossible to root for or sympathize with, causing trouble and BS everywhere he goes throughout the film from start to finish. And I'm sorry, but watching him try to groom a hardly legal 17-yr-old girl into a relationship with him and into the porn industry did not sit right with me at all! The story is wandering and aimless and just feels all-around pointless and like a whole lot of nothing by the time the credits rolled. Overall, it's a complete sleazeball of a film with zero redeemable characters and an excessively smutty story. No thanks!… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

ajacques

Dec 29, 2021

This claims to be the non judgmental view of a predator. That’s literally just acting like being a pedophile is ok. This man is a piece of **** of the worst kind. I liked Simon Rex before. **** him. Let his career die like it has been.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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