Name: Red Rocket
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 2021-12-10T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Simon Rex, Suzanna Son, Bree Elrod, Ethan Darbone, Brenda Deiss

The opening shot of Simon Rex’s Mikey Saber—disheveled, swaggering, and utterly lost—slouching into his Texas hometown like a man who’s given up on pretending to be anything but a walking disaster sets the tone for Red Rocket. Directed by Sean Baker, a filmmaker known for his unflinching empathy toward society’s outcasts (Tangerine, The Florida Project), this film follows Mikey, a former porn star who returns to his estranged wife and mother-in-law after hitting rock bottom in Los Angeles. The question at the heart of Red Rocket isn’t whether Mikey will change, but why we should care if he does. Baker’s answer is messy, compelling, and ultimately unsatisfying.

Rex, best known for his work as a rapper and MTV VJ, delivers a performance that’s both revolting and mesmerizing. His Mikey Saber is a man who sees the world as a series of opportunities to exploit—whether it’s his wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) for a place to stay or Strawberry (Suzanna Son), a young doughnut shop worker, for something far more sinister. Rex plays these moments with a slimy charisma that makes Mikey’s manipulation feel both pathetic and dangerous. The dynamic between Rex and Son is the film’s emotional core; she’s the only one who seems to see through him, even as she’s drawn into his orbit. Their scenes together crackle with an uneasy energy, a push-and-pull of attraction and repulsion that keeps the film engaging.

Baker’s direction is, as always, visually striking. He uses handheld shots and natural lighting to emphasize the decay of Texas small-town life—the peeling paint, the flickering neon signs, the way Mikey’s schemes always seem to involve someone else’s suffering. The film’s visual style is gritty but precise, capturing the claustrophobia of Mikey’s world with a keen eye for detail. Baker has a knack for finding beauty in the mundane, and Red Rocket is no exception. There are moments where his empathy for his characters feels genuine, like in the quiet scenes between Lexi and her mother (Brenda Deiss), who endure Mikey’s chaos with weary resignation.

But Red Rocket stumbles when it tries to balance its dark humor with its moral outrage. The film wants us to laugh at Mikey’s antics while also condemning them, but the tone wavers too much between satire and tragedy. Baker’s usual knack for finding humanity in his characters feels strained here; Mikey is so repellent that it’s hard to care about his redemption arc. The supporting cast—especially Son and Elrod—does their best to ground the film, but they’re often left playing catch-up with Rex’s performance.

The film’s pacing is another issue. At 138 minutes, Red Rocket feels bloated, especially in its third act, which drags as Mikey’s schemes become increasingly desperate and convoluted. Baker seems determined to show every last detail of Mikey’s downfall, but the film would have benefited from tighter editing. There are scenes that feel repetitive, moments where the tension dissipates because we’ve seen this before—Mikey lying, manipulating, failing.

Yet for all its flaws, Red Rocket is a brave film. It’s not afraid to explore the life of an unlikable protagonist, and Baker’s commitment to his vision is admirable. The film’s themes of redemption, exploitation, and the cyclical nature of poverty are timely and relevant. But where Baker’s previous films found humanity in their subjects, Red Rocket often feels like a study in how low one man can go without offering much insight into why he’s there.

This isn’t to say that Red Rocket is without merit. Rex’s performance is a standout, and Baker’s direction is visually striking. The film’s exploration of exploitation—both sexual and economic—is timely and necessary. But the film’s uneven tone and pacing hold it back from being the powerful statement it could have been.

In the end, Red Rocket is a film that will leave audiences divided. Those who appreciate Baker’s unflinching gaze and Rex’s bold performance will find much to admire. Others may struggle to connect with a protagonist who’s so thoroughly unpleasant.