TMS Movie Review: Red Rocket [test]
(A24 Films)
Sean Baker’s new movie Red Rocket gave me the strangest middle school nostalgia. Whether it’s ‘N Sync’s 2000 hit single ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ being effectively used throughout the film; or that I associate lead actor Simon Rex with the WB’s popular sitcom “What I Like About You” (2002-03); right from the very first scene of Red Rocket, I was intrigued. Baker, the filmmaker behind the critically acclaimed indie movies Tangerine (2015) and The Florida Project (2017), now takes us to smalltown Texas for his current tale of trashy people with or without well-meaning intentions.
In 2016 Texas City, TX, Mikey Davies (Rex) is returning to his hometown in desperation after spending 15 years working in the adult film industry in LA. His controversial background makes it difficult for him to get a new, ordinary job in town or even sign up for local government benefits, so he resorts to selling weed on the streets. Mikey’s estranged ex-wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) wants nothing to do with him, yet reluctantly lets him crash at her place when he can prove he has money for rent. The down-and-out pornstar’s life then takes an unexpected, messy turn when he becomes fixated with a high school senior, appropriately named Strawberry (Suzanna Son), who works at the local donut shop.
(A24 Films)
Red Rocket features Baker’s usual brand of casting an established actor, Rex, opposite complete newcomers. Rex and Elrod give impressive lead performances, while Son already comes across as a pro opposite the grown-up co-stars. Baker has regularly written characters who have experience with sex work in his pictures, to much insight. While he previously focused on female strippers and prostitutes, here we have a male pornstar played by an actor who actually really did participate in amateur porn before fame. Meta narrative has spiked majorly in the last year, and even as part of the current trend, Baker still stands out in his field. The tongue-in-cheek casting isn’t too on-the-nose and becomes natural by the end. Like with P.T. Anderson’s Licorice Pizza this same season, the Rex/Son arc of Red Rocket has been met with unsurprising apprehension. I do find it a little strange that in 2021, we saw two talented filmmakers make two otherwise good movies with a blasé portrayal of adult-teen dating. In Red Rocket, the pairing is neither condoned nor endorsed; yet the story and direction make it incredibly obvious and acknowledged Mikey has the loosest morals a person can have, and his motives in general show we shouldn’t root for the couple. And for anyone worried or uncomfortable with the nudity from Son in the movie, the actress was actually 25 during filming, though you would never guess with how petite and youthful she looks.
Although I would have preferred a little stronger ending, Baker’s Red Rocket has a nice blend of realism, comic relief and cautionary themes.