'Red Rocket' film review: Simon Rex shines as an ex-porn star trying to make a comeback
Simon Rex's irresistibly charismatic performance anchors the comedic drama 'Red Rocket' (in theaters nationwide Dec. 25), easily the best character-driven comedy of 2021.
In short: Washed-up, penniless porn star Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) returns to his small Texas hometown. Bree Elrod and Suzanna Son also star.
The traditional indie flick would absolutely take a broken protagonist, teach him some difficult lessons and put him back on the road toward a better life. 'Red Rocket' is not that movie. This is a character study of a man who hit rock bottom - but didn't learn the lessons that would humble other men. Mikey is elementally, essentially who he is: a porn star - the fact that he was apparently run out of Los Angeles or the fact that he's flat broke is merely a setback to a guy like Mikey. While society at large might have misgivings about his career choice, Mikey has so little problem with pornography that he's absolutely willing to recruit an innocent young girl into the adult film racket - ostensibly because she's a "natural," but clearly because she is his ticket back to the world he loves.
The single best decision writer-director Sean Baker ('Tangerine' and 'The Florida Project') made during the entire production of his latest film was casting Simon Rex. On paper, 'Red Rocket' simply should not work - and for some people, even Rex's infectiously charismatic performance can't distract from the fact that, on paper, this is essentially the story of an amoral porn star trying to woo a small-town teen girl into the porn biz. Everyone knows or at least has met a guy like Mikey Saber - he's a fast-talking loser who would ask to borrow $100. He promises that he'll repay the money ASAP. And you know he'll never repay the money - but Mikey's relentless, seemingly unflappable charm somehow, someway gets you to lend him the money. It's impossible to imagine anyone other than Simon Rex playing Mikey and the entire film totally hinges on getting the audience to not completely despise Mikey.
Director Sean Baker has made a career out of totally inhabiting a side of American life rarely seen in films or TV shows. If anything, Mikey's story is a twisted reimagining of the American Dream with a warped tale of meritocracy sans morality. In the first act, Mikey legitimately tries to rebuild his life - he applies for various menial jobs, showing his willingness to start at the bottom again. He seems earnest in his willingness to take any job - but when his background in pornography proves to be more of a liability than an asset on the job market, he's forced to deal drugs. And he's good at it. He's a hustler through and through. Baker's story finds an irrepressible man who attempts to go straight - but immediately and without hesitation turns to drug dealing to make ends meet, and all his future hopes and dreams are bound to reclaiming success in the adult film industry. The American Dream is rooted in the notion that anyone can achieve success through hard work - but Baker's characters live in an America where second chances are conditional upon moral grounds, and success is indeed very possible ... if you're willing to completely abandon moral hang-ups about sex and whisking a teen girl from her hometown to pimp her out to porn producers.
Final verdict: Baker's latest is an unvarnished bit of down-and-dirty Americana carried by one of the best comedic performances of the year.
Score: 4/5
'Red Rocket' opens in theaters nationwide Dec. 25. This film has a running time of 128 minutes and is rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and pervasive language
