There’s something magnetic about watching ASAP Rocky operate in unfamiliar territory — especially when that territory includes a dingy roadside motel, Rose Byrne’s unraveling life, and Conan O’Brien offering therapy with the emotional range of a parking meter.
In the newly released trailer for A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, ASAP Rocky slides into his latest screen role with signature ease, playing a smooth-talking motel dweller who stirs up trouble for Byrne’s character, a single mom pushed to her limits. Her apartment has literally collapsed, her therapist might be broken, and now there’s Rocky, shirtless and cinematic, inviting her over for “a movie.” You already know where that’s going.
Rocky’s presence on-screen doesn’t scream leading man, he’s too effortlessly cool for that. He works better when he plays slightly off-center, and this role leans into that with just the right amount of grime. There’s a sleazy charm to him here, the kind that makes you question whether you’re rooting for him or just hypnotized.
It’s a curious warm-up act before his more high-profile turn opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. But don’t dismiss If I Had Legs I’d Kick You as a throwaway. The trailer hints at something strange, sharp, and emotionally chaotic in that classic A24 way — a film that might just sneak up on you.
With Don’t Be Dumb still under wraps, this feels like a calculated pivot for Rocky, not just a rapper moonlighting in film, but a real actor picking his shots.
