Be warned though, it is not for the faint-hearted.
Red Rocket, one of the best comedy movies of last year, is now available to stream in Ireland and the UK via Sky Cinema and Now Cinema.
Co-written and directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Tangerine), the movie follows Mikey 'Saber' Davies (Simon Rex, best known for his work in the Scary Movie franchise), a porn star who returns to his Texas city hometown having burnt all his bridges in Los Angeles.
After begging his estranged wife (Bree Elrod) and her mother-in-law (Brenda Deiss) to let him stay in her house, Mikey starts supporting himself by selling marijuana.
However, just as this dysfunctional family seems to be making things work, Mikey meets a 17-year-old girl named Strawberry (Suzanna Son) working the cash register at a local doughnut shop and falls right back into his old habits - seeing her as the key to him reviving his career in pornography.
Suzanna Son and Simon Rex in Red Rocket
Having first premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2021 before getting an Irish cinema release in March 2022, Red Rocket received wide acclaim from critics - earning a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score.
In particular, the black comedy-drama earned praise for its authentic and vibrant look at rural America, its fleshed out portrait of a small-time hustler and Rex's charming performance that manages to compel viewers even when they may be repulsed by Mikey's behaviour.
In regard to the latter, Rex was awarded the Best Male Lead prize at the Independent Spirit Awards.
You can read some of the positive reviews for Red Rocket from critics right here:
Associated Press: "Mikey is a very hard character to play well but Simon Rex has his rascally number. We never fall for his manipulations but, from afar, admire his machinations, nonetheless."
The Atlantic: "Red Rocket is far more sour than sweet, but that's part of the point; Mikey is a reprehensible fellow, but he's clawed his way through life by sheer force of will, and as such, the camera simply can't look away."
AV Club: "[A] deliriously funny and deviously satirical new comedy about a very specific, finely sketched specimen of parasitic American hustler.
Chicago Sun-Times: "This is an admirable work centering on a man who has likely never done an admirable thing in his entire rotten life."
Empire: "A beguiling and beautiful film about a total toerag, Red Rocket is a unique character study: Mikey Saber will charm your socks off, and you’ll hate him for it."
Little White Lies: "A dirty delight. Weird, smart, fantastic and very, very wrong."
Red Rocket is now available to stream through Sky Cinema and Now Cinema in Ireland and the UK.
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