RED ROCKET (18)
This critically acclaimed indie comedy feels like a macho version of Charlize Theron’s 2011 cult hit Young Adult.
Simon Rex plays a cocky fantasist who returns to conquer his hometown after an underwhelming showbiz career. Mikey ‘Saber’ Davies may be penniless and homeless but he still thinks he’s a cut above the locals he left 17 years ago to pursue a career as a porn star.
After a coach trip from Los Angeles, the motor-mouthed hustler arrives on the Texan doorstep of estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) and mother-in-law Lil (Brenda Deiss).
Beaten down by his relentless and clearly made-up sob story, they let him sleep on their sofa for $200-a-month rent.
But local employers refuse to give him a job, despite his impressive CV of 2,000 film credits and six AVNs (“It’s like the Academy Awards for what I do”).
So he reconnects with the local marijuana dealer he worked for as a teenager and targets construction workers in a local cafe.
There, he meets 17-year-old Strawberry (Suzanna Son) and begins to hatch a scummy plan using her to resurrect his career in the adult entertainment business.
Director Sean Baker is an expert at mining the margins of modern America and brought us an Oscarnominated turn from Willem Dafoe in the brilliant The Florida Project.
Rex, a former MTV VJ with limited acting experience, is quite a find too.
But I found it hard to root for this American dreamer. After a zippy opening act, my sympathy began to sink under the weight of Rex’s lies and Baker’s meandering plot. ■