Red Rover (film) explained

Red Rover is a 2018 Canadian science fiction romantic comedy film, directed by Shane Belcourt.^[1] The film stars Kristian Bruun as Damon, a depressed and lonely geologist who decides that the solution to his problems is to apply for a Mars to Stay mission, when he meets and falls in love with Phoebe (Cara Gee), a musician who is involved in the promotional campaign to solicit mission volunteers.^[2]

The cast also includes Meghan Heffern, Anna Hopkins, Morgan David Jones, Joshua Peace, Laura Wilson and Sugith Varughese.

The film premiered on November 13, 2018 at the Whistler Film Festival,^[3] and was screened at the 2019 Canadian Film Festival,^[4] before being released commercially in 2020.^[1]

Critical response

Several critics, including Chris Knight of the National Post^[1] and Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail,^[5] criticized the film for resurrecting the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope popular in independent films of the early 2010s.

Notes and References

1. Chris Knight, "Romantic comedy is rocket science in Red Rover". National Post, May 14, 2020.
2. Liam Lacey, "Red Rover: 'Meeting cute' while planning the ultimate in self-isolation on Mars". Original Cin, May 12, 2020.
3. Victor Stiff, "Whistler Film Festival Unveils Its 2018 Slate". That Shelf, November 2, 2018.
4. Andrew Parker, "Canadian Film Fest Review: Red Rover". TheGATE.ca, March 18, 2019.
5. Barry Hertz, "Canadian rom-com Red Rover resurrects the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, with unbearably quirky results". The Globe and Mail, May 11, 2020.