Sean Baker must have a thing for donut shops, the distinctly American small businesses have now been a centerpiece of two of his more celebrated films. The now-defunct Hollywood landmark Donut Time was the setting for significant drama in 2015’s “Tangerine” and now a similar establishment in the greater Galveston, Texas area is a fixture for his latest endeavor, “Red Rocket.” Beyond the welcome to return of such establishments, the real surprise is this Cannes Film Festival selection may be Baker’s most political film to date. If you care to take it there, of course.
The “rocket” in question is Mickey Saber (Simon Rex, very good) and while that nickname is never uttered during the picture, it’s a reference to the character’s impressive phallus which has endowed him with a lengthy career in the porn business. When we first meet him he’s sleeping on a bus, as Baker blasts NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” over the opening credits. That pop hit would have been a radio staple when Saber departed Texas City, Texas for LA’s adult film industry and Baker returns to it at significant moments of the film. Broke and beat up, Saber returns to his hometown and arrives at the door of his close to destitute ex-wife (although technically not divorced) Lexi (Bree Elrod, transformative), and his mother-in-law Lil (Brenda Deiss). Now Saber is an upbeat hustler who can charm almost anyone he meets. Rex fuels him with a borderline hyperactivity that, despite their deep misgivings, Lexi and Lil simply can’t resist. Or maybe they just have genuine compassion for his current predicament. Soon, what was to be a few days on their couch turns into a week and then the couch turns into Lexi, a former adult star herself, letting him sleep in her bed (with obvious side benefits for both of them).
Having agreed to pay $200 a month to crash at the house, Saber discovers 17 years in porn isn’t the sort of experience minimum wage employers are looking for. That sends him to Leondra (Judy Hill), a local drug dealer Saber sold pot for while in high school. Leondra is wary of Saber, as is her tough-as-nails daughter June (Betty Rodriguez), but she gives him a batch to hawk and he quickly is making some small time dough. It’s a chance encounter at the local donut shop (you knew we were going to get back to it, didn’t you?) that makes Sabler’s head spin, however.
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When Sabler discovers the beautiful young employee behind the counter’s name is Strawberry (spectacular newcomer Suzanna Son) he almost can’t believe it. Not only is it the perfect porn star name, as he’ll remind everyone, he’s a six-time AVN Award winner (the Oscars for porn) and he knows talent when he sees it. Strawberry might not recognize it herself, but in Sabler’s eyes, the 17-year-old is a future goldmine (it should be noted that Son is a very youthful-looking 23-years-old). Using the shop as a base of operations to sell dope Stabler actually spends most of his free time attempting to whoo the not-so-innocent Strawberry. When she welcomes his advances with some sly flirting of his own Sabler starts a campaign to convince her to forge a new career path.
On the surface, Baker and co-screenwriter Chris Bergoch are crafting another depiction of poor, working-class America and using Stabler as the prodigal son no one wanted to return home. Baker even continues to bring non-professional actors such as Deiss and Hill into the mix to give it a grounded realism few auteurs can match. But there’s more here. The longtime collaborators set this story not in 2020 or 2021, but specifically in 2016. Almost every time a television is on in Lil’s some it’s either playing “The People’s Court” (her favorite program) or a news clip of Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Audio from newscasts questioning Hillary Clinton’s E-mails are also heard and, at one point, Stabler walks home under a partially obscured Trump campaign billboard. A viewer’s initial reaction might be that Baker is spreading it on just a little too thick and attempting to tie this demographic to Trump’s success, something we’ve seen in other forms of media since that pivotal election. That’s genuinely not the case. Instead, the entire film is an allegory to what occurred four years later (or what Baker must have hoped when the film shot last fall).
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Stabler is a consummate con man. Constantly telling everyone around him what they want to hear. Full of bravado of his sexual and business exploits, but in reality, now a complete failure. When he attempts to take advantage of the women and People of Color in his life, well, let’s just say he gets an eventual comeuppance that he never saw coming. And when Lexi calls him out as a “suitcase pimp,” that sounds awfully familiar to the career of a former President.
Of course, you can also just enjoy “Red Rocket” for Baker and cinematographer Drew Daniels’ gorgeous twilight landscapes or Rex’s irresistible charismatic performance. Or laugh at Stabler’s exploits (although we admit, the film could genuinely be a bit funnier) or fall under Strawberry’s charm. Or you can see more. [B+]
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