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Post by DeepArcher on Dec 28, 2021 22:06:02 GMT
I've seen several people post about this but no thread yet for the movie I don't think (?).
I think Baker continues his streak of truly great movies that come up short of masterful. At first glance this feels a bit lesser than The Florida Project ... a movie I love until it just totally drops the ball in the last minute. Red Rocket never fumbles quite as bad but I will say the third act kind of lost me and then won me back like three times before it was over. This hits a pretty beautiful stride for its middle hour or so where it's just kind of a pure adrenalin rush of debauchery and obscenity that you can't possibly look away from. Simon Rex's performance is the perfect pitch of overwhelming manic energy, this fully believable man-child nature with a truly manipulative and diabolical edge to him, that's also just so watchable and so damn funny.
I remember when this was first announced and it was being described as "story of a washed-up pornstar who's a Trump supporter" and I think in the finished product the political element is smartly downplayed ... even the window-dressing of the 2016 election some might find too unsubtle but I think not foregrounding it too much makes it way more palatable for 2021 audiences while audiences 20 to 30 years from now will be able to look at it in a "oh I see what this was doing" kind of way. All of this to say that Baker consistently feels like one of our only currently working auteurs who actually knows how to make great contemporary set movies and this is definitely no exception.
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Post by DeepArcher on Dec 28, 2021 22:13:53 GMT
Also, maybe the funniest trait of Mikey's character is how he's MAR-level obsessed with porn industry awards ...
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Dec 28, 2021 23:34:59 GMT
Super incisive study of a narcissistic conman. It was so richly full of character detail all throughout the cast that I found myself uncomfortable at times at the fact that I know people EXACTLY like this. Just a stunningly rich film, and to have it set against the 2016 election is a stroke of genius. Huge props to Simon Rex whose Mikey manages to toe the line between sleaze and boyish charm so effectively it puts the audience in the position of the other characters inviting him in despite our better judgment. Suzanna Son is a revelation as well playing a 17-year-old who knows enough to know she needs to do whatever she can to get out of town but not enough to recognize Mikey is a tornado of a human being who does nothing but ruin the lives of everyone he encounters. At one point she says, "as long as you're not hurting anybody, you do you, man." Unfortunately, hurting people and "doing you" are one and the same to Mikey.
Everybody in front of and behind the camera brought their A-game and it's a damn shame that this movie is not front and center in the awards conversation. Seriously, when the hell are they going to recognize Sean Baker for being one of the most important American artists working today?
Also, kinda hilarious that TikTok is so outraged at Licorice Pizza when this film exists. Here I think it's a bit more motivated to have such a gross relationship dynamic, but it's not really like those teens are bothering to watch Licorice Pizza before talking about it.
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Post by stephen on Jan 1, 2022 1:10:48 GMT
I reeeeeeeally liked this. Deep-fried Uncut Gems, this was. Simon Rex was stupendously good, Suzanna Son was excellent, and I thought that Bree Elrod was staggering. I never really bought the Sean Baker hype before, but everything coalesced marvelously here. Yeah, give this all the Indie Spirits.
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Post by Viced on Mar 7, 2022 19:37:23 GMT
Definitely one of the most thematically interesting films of 2021. It seamlessly pulls off the delicate balance between showing (pretty clearly) that Mikey is a scumbag and making you enjoy every minute of watching him (okay, maybe not every minute). Can't remember the last time a film did that this well... lately it seems like TV is the only place even attempting to pull it off.
Also a great example of the fun of a film quite literally coming to a crashing halt. Though it did lose me a little after that crash, the perfectly calibrated and totally unique ending brought me back on board.
And Simon Rex obviously lives up to the hype. One of the most singular performances in recent memory. Perfectly edited by Baker too.
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Post by Martin Stett on Oct 8, 2022 23:30:03 GMT
Like many beloved recent movies on here, I think that this is more clever than engaging - lots of "oh, I see what you did there" intelligence, but nothing that actually grabs the audience's emotions in any palpable way - but it is reasonably entertaining throughout its runtime, and Simon Rex is a hoot. The only reason I watched this was the AMARA nod for BP, but color me surprised that I actually enjoyed it.
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Post by Brother Fease on Jun 3, 2024 22:54:42 GMT
Just saw this on Hoopla. Really good film. Very funny.
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