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Red Rocket
2021 130 min United States of America R 18+
★7.3
Drama, Comedy
Director: Sean Baker
Trailers
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Description
After hitting rock bottom in Los Angeles, former porn star Mikey Saber returns to his hometown in Texas to stay with his estranged wife and mother-in-law. Just as tensions begin to ease, he becomes infatuated with a young doughnut shop worker named Strawberry.
Budget:
$1.1M
US Gross:
$1.02M
Worldwide:
$2.2M
Starring
Simon Rex
Actor
Bree Elrod
Actor
Suzanna Son
Actor
Awards
Cannes Film Festival 2021
— Palme d'Or
Key opinion
Red Rocket is a gritty, darkly comic portrait of a washed-up porn star struggling to reinvent himself in a bleak Texas landscape. While critics praise Sean Baker’s authentic social realism and Simon Rex’s charismatic performance, audiences remain divided over the protagonist's repulsive nature and the film's cynical, low-stakes narrative.
| Acting | Simon Rex’s charismatic lead performance anchors the film, successfully making a deeply flawed character watchable. | |
| Cinematography | Sean Baker employs a distinctively vibrant and inventive visual style that finds beauty and humanity in the bleakness of provincial America. | |
| Screenplay | The narrative structure is polarized; some viewers appreciate the raw, observational look at the American Dream, while others find the plot thin, aimless, and lacking the emotional depth of Baker's previous work. | |
| Pacing | The two-hour runtime and deliberate pacing are perceived as either an authentic reflection of small-town stagnation or an exhausting, repetitive slog. |