“Red Rover” Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
Chances are that when many When It Was Cool readers were youngsters, they were told by their teachers or parents that when they were adults, they would be vacationing on the moon. Although that dream has yet to come to fruition, the protagonist of Red Rover — a new Canadian romantic dramedy with a science fiction bent — has the opportunity to go even further in space and help explore and colonize Mars.
Geologist Damon (Kristian Bruun) is down on his luck. Already living in the basement of the house that he co-owns with his ex-girlfriend who lives upstairs with her new boyfriend, Damon gets canned from his job because his boss is a jerk. While out combing the beach with a metal detector, he meets free spirit Phoebe (Cara Gee), a musician who is working a temp gig as a publicity person for the reality TV series Red Rover. The premise of the series is that the show will send a select few finalists to Mars. Damon, with little to lose, sets his sights on leaving Earth forever, and Phoebe is happy to help him qualify for the mission. Naturally, things change as the story progresses, and Damon must choose whether to follow his dream of interplanetary travel or try giving it one more go on Earth.
Red Rover is a quirky film with a big, sweet heart led by the engaging performance of Gee as an upbeat life lover dressed in a spacesuit. Her Phoebe merrily takes Damon out of several of his comfort zones, and the actress is an absolute joy to watch. Bruun also gives a fine turn as a downtrodden everyman who realizes that life as a doormat on Earth is not what he wants, after all. Meghan Heffern is also super as Damon’s ex Beatrice, and Heffern and Bruun have some fine comic and touching moments together. Anna Hopkins shines delightfully in a supporting role as Maya, a botanist who is also competing for a spot on the Red Rover mission.
Director Shane Belcourt, who cowrote the screenplay with Duane Murray, helms Red Rover with a knowing hand, keeping the human interaction grounded in believable reality while investing the story and its characters with an offbeat charm. Red Rover, presented by Indiecan Entertainment, is available on VOD from May 12.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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