Red Rocket (2021)

Red Rocket (2021)

A beautiful but heartbreaking look at life in the heartland

7.4

Movie

United States of America
English
Comedy, Drama
2021
SEAN BAKER
Bree Elrod, Ethan Darbone, Karren Karagulian
130 min

What it's about

Finding himself down and out in Los Angeles, ex porn star Mikey Saber decides to crawl back to his hometown of Texas City, Texas, where his estranged wife and mother-in-law are living. Just as this dysfunctional family seems to be making things work, Mikey meets a young woman named Strawberry working the cash register at a local doughnut shop.

The take

When Mikey Saber’s porn career takes a dip in California, he returns to an estranged wife in Texas, where he meets new and old friends alike and attempts to rebuild his life through a couple of odd jobs. Though Mikey eventually earns his keep, his vanity and eagerness to succeed at all costs threaten to get the best of him.

All this happens against a vibrant backdrop of local sights, beautifully lit and framed by director Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Tangerine). Quaint, naturalistic, and ever-so-subtly political, Red Rocket is another great entry into Baker’s impressions of the vexed American Dream.

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

The Monk and the Gun (2024)

Pawo Choyning Dorji depicts Bhutan through this fascinatingly gentle comedy during its shift to democracy

8.1

Art of Love (2024)

An underwhelming heist romance with all of the style but none of the thrills

5.7

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending

8.2

Thank You, I’m Sorry (2023)

Estranged sisters reconnect amidst grief and bizarre comedy in this understated Swedish drama

6.5

Last Call for Istanbul (2023)

A seemingly generic Turkish romance travel film, until it gets into its second half

7.0

A Silent Voice (2016)

A coming-of-age movie that circles around friendship and the atonement of a boy

8.7

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.