Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Tons of sex, swearing in freewheeling dark dramedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Red Rocket
What's the Story?
In RED ROCKET, former adult film star Mikey Davies, a.k.a. "Mikey Saber" (Simon Rex), returns to his Texas hometown after a run of bad luck. He crashes with his estranged wife, Lexi (Bree Elrod), and her mother, Lil (Brenda Deiss); unable to find a job, he starts dealing pot. After making some cash, Mikey celebrates by taking Lexi and Lil out to donuts. Working at the donut shop is 17-year-old Strawberry (Suzanna Son) -- whom Mikey is instantly enthralled with. He gets obsessed with the idea of turning her into a new adult star and making his way back into the industry. Things seem to be going well for a while, but then an accident sends things spinning out of control.
Is It Any Good?
Sean Baker's dramedy about an former adult film star is layered in realism and a sense of place, but it also tells its relentless story of sex and power plays in a disarmingly freewheeling style. Baker's previous films all also dealt, in some way, with the business of sex, but Red Rocket is funnier, and trickier, than his earlier efforts. The movie benefits most from star Rex, who has been a rapper, comedian, model, MTV VJ, and, yes, something of an adult film actor (he performed in a few "solo" videos). His sly, jabberjaw performance hinges on his ability to charm -- or badger -- anybody into doing anything.
Mikey's chattering is so tenacious that it eventually becomes funny. Rex makes it look so breezily effortless that he disguises just how despicable his character really is, at least until the point when the movie is ready to reveal that truth. The rest of the unseasoned cast are remarkable finds, too. Even more important is the backdrop, a rundown Texas town peppered with smokestacks and electrical grids (the Texas Killing Fields are said to be nearby), suggesting an American lostness and a sense of being stuck without much leverage. More ominously, we get background hints of the 2016 election and its results. In a country that cares so little about people on the margins, Red Rocket is a story of the desperate lengths and depths that a free-thinker and scoundrel will go to in order to succeed.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Red Rocket portrays sex. What qualities are portrayed? Is sex connected with love? Trust? Money? Power? How?
How are drinking, drug use, and smoking depicted? Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why is that important?
How is violence portrayed? What's the difference between the scenes of threat and intimidation and the scenes of outright violence?
What does the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election add to the movie?
Did you notice any positive diverse representations in the film? Problematic ones? Why is it an issue when a movie's only characters of color are drug dealers?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 10, 2021
- Cast : Simon Rex , Bree Elrod , Suzanna Son
- Director : Sean Baker
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : A24
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 128 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and pervasive language
- Last updated : February 17, 2022
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