Red Rocket (2021)

This story of a washed-up porn star returning, with no welcome, to his Texas hometown is pretty good and Jack and I liked it. With plenty of full frontal nudity and graphic sex, it is not for kids nor prudish adults.

Simon Rex, himself a former porn actor, plays the handsome loser Mikey, Bree Elrod his angry estranged wife, and Suzanna Son the sexy teenage donut shop waitress.

Sean Baker directs from a script by himself and co-writer Chris Bergoch, and they show a side of small town America, in this case Texas City, Texas. that some of us have not seen before. Apparently red rocket is slang for a dog's erection.

No composer is credited but there are plenty of songs.

Baker and Bergoch were last blogged for The Florida Project. Rex, Elrod, and Son are new to me, despite Rex's dozens of credits and Elrod's and Son's few.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are flying pretty high with this, averaging 88%; its audiences not so much at 72.

As a member of the Independent Feature Project, I have access to streaming the Spirit Awards nominees, and both Rex and Son got recognized for their performances. Here's my running list of selected nominations and wins.

We streamed it on January 14 but the pre-order on iTunes is expected February 8. I imagine that sometime after that date you can rent it on that platform and more.