ReelBob: ‘Red Rocket’ ★★★½

By Bob Bloom

Mikey is a sleazy, big-mouth, fast-talking, selfish son of a bitch, who uses and discards people without a second thought.

He returns to the small Texas City, Texas, hometown he left years ago, broke, with only the clothes on his back.

Mikey, a has-been porno star living off his past notoriety, is filled with big dreams and get-rich-quick schemes.

This dirtbag is the protagonist of writer-director Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket,” a disturbing comedy about a low-life that very, very few people can stomach.

Simon Rex’s fearless and bold performance as Mikey drives the movie. As much as you dislike Mikey — and, trust me, he will disgust you — you can’t turn away from watching what he will do next.

And Rex is totally committed to his character. He refuses to display a modicum of empathy, sympathy or compassion for anyone.

His Mikey is a self-absorbed prick who hustles anyone and everyone.

Baker, as he did in his excellent “The Florida Project,” focuses on the nearly forgotten people passed over by society. They are the ones squeezed together in tract houses who live either paycheck-to-paycheck or through some sort of assistance.

Mikey convinces his ex-wife to let him stay — temporarily, he claims — with her and her mother, while he attempts to get back on his feet.

He promises that he will look for a job, do his share of work around the house and pay rent as well. His assurances are worthless — his ex knows it, he knows it and, sure as heck, we know it.

Mikey does get a job — hooking up with his old supplier to again sell weed.

But even then, he goes on his own, selling marijuana to oil-refinery workers after being told specifically by his supplier not to do so.

Life changes for Mikey when he meets Strawberry (Suzanna Son), a 17-year-old girl working at the local Donut Hole. He is smitten with her free-wheeling attitude. And when they begin an affair, he believes she can be his ticket back into porno films.

He definitely is not a guy you want to invite over for dinner.

Mikey keeps the affair secret — especially from his ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law. Eventually, his attitude around the house — when he is there — worsens. Earlier, he had made small efforts to reconnect with his ex, but once he became involved with Strawberry, he started pushing her away.

Baker has created a character who is totally irredeemable. Yet, Baker frames “Red Rocket” so wholly around Mikey, that you have no choice but to share his journey.

Son’s Strawberry supplies the movie’s brightness. She is bubbly, friendly, cute and sexual. She is frank about enjoying sex and seems not to take life or Mikey too seriously.

“Red Rocket” shines when she is on screen.

And while the sexual relationship between the older Mikey and the much-younger Strawberry could be construed as immoral and even illegal, Son does not portray Strawberry as a victim. She is a willing participant, even agreeing to return to California with Mikey to make porno movies. (That Mikey tells a friend that he can convince Strawberry to “act” with other people in films, is another nail in the slimeball’s coffin.)

You kind of feel guilty about enjoying “Red Rocket,” and secretly may even admire Mikey’s chutzpah.

But, afterward, when you think about it, you just feel dirty and want a shower.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap substack and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

RED ROCKET
3½ stars out of 4
(R), strong sexual content, nudity, drug use, language