Director: Quentin Dupieux (debut film)
Starring: A Tire, Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser
On Blu-Ray + DVD: June 7, 2011
Rubber is one of the weirdest movies you'll ever see. Not only is the central story about a sentient tire that rolls around blowing people's heads up, but there's a meta-film aspect in which a group of spectators watch the tire doing all of this as if it was a movie. There's also a guy within the tire storyline who knows that it's just a movie. All this makes for a pretty jumbled mess of a film, but one I won't soon forget.
Rubber opens with a five minute monologue by Lieutenant Chad (Spinella) about how "having no reason" is an integral part of every great film. ("In E.T., why is the alien brown? No reason.") It's a great way to open the film and got me way more interested than it should have. That probably has to do with unexpected humor being one of my favorite types of comedy.
Following this introduction, Rubber opens on a group of spectators with binoculars who make comments on a variety of things happening within the film. These characters are supposed to be watching a film, just like us, but they play a part in the movie as the people within the "real" movie are trying to poison them so they can stop acting. It's a very weird idea, and, for the most part, it works. A lot of their commentary did get annoying after a while, because I really just wanted to see the tire do its thing. However, I can respect a film that tries to do something as ballsy as a movie within a movie. I feel like if they had focused more on the spectator aspect of the film they could have really taken it somewhere great, but since they had to balance it with the actual story, it comes off a little silly and unnecessary.
That statement also applies to the tire's story. Rubber actually follows the tire from its first moments of sentience. We see the tire learn to stand up and roll, learn to crush things, and eventually learn to use its telekinetic powers to blow things up, like beer bottles and rabbits. This section was probably my favorite part of the film because it is so completely original. After this, the tire finds a road and begins tormenting and exploding humans. I honestly laughed out loud every single time that someone exploded in this film. It just looked so silly, which I think was the point. I mean, it's a movie about a tire that explodes people; you're supposed to laugh. And yet, I wanted so much more of the tire's story. For example, the film showed comical instances of the tire's emotional side that I would've liked to see played out further. Also, of course, I wanted more exploding heads.
As it is, though, Rubber ends up being only moderately successful. Had the film been longer (it's not even 90 minutes long), the filmmakers might have been able to explore both the tire's story and the spectators' story. With its running time, though, they only have time to rush through both parts. The end result is a flawed but unforgettable film that will keep you entertained throughout.
Rubber is one of the weirdest movies you'll ever see. Not only is the central story about a sentient tire that rolls around blowing people's heads up, but there's a meta-film aspect in which a group of spectators watch the tire doing all of this as if it was a movie. There's also a guy within the tire storyline who knows that it's just a movie. All this makes for a pretty jumbled mess of a film, but one I won't soon forget.
Rubber opens with a five minute monologue by Lieutenant Chad (Spinella) about how "having no reason" is an integral part of every great film. ("In E.T., why is the alien brown? No reason.") It's a great way to open the film and got me way more interested than it should have. That probably has to do with unexpected humor being one of my favorite types of comedy.
Following this introduction, Rubber opens on a group of spectators with binoculars who make comments on a variety of things happening within the film. These characters are supposed to be watching a film, just like us, but they play a part in the movie as the people within the "real" movie are trying to poison them so they can stop acting. It's a very weird idea, and, for the most part, it works. A lot of their commentary did get annoying after a while, because I really just wanted to see the tire do its thing. However, I can respect a film that tries to do something as ballsy as a movie within a movie. I feel like if they had focused more on the spectator aspect of the film they could have really taken it somewhere great, but since they had to balance it with the actual story, it comes off a little silly and unnecessary.
That statement also applies to the tire's story. Rubber actually follows the tire from its first moments of sentience. We see the tire learn to stand up and roll, learn to crush things, and eventually learn to use its telekinetic powers to blow things up, like beer bottles and rabbits. This section was probably my favorite part of the film because it is so completely original. After this, the tire finds a road and begins tormenting and exploding humans. I honestly laughed out loud every single time that someone exploded in this film. It just looked so silly, which I think was the point. I mean, it's a movie about a tire that explodes people; you're supposed to laugh. And yet, I wanted so much more of the tire's story. For example, the film showed comical instances of the tire's emotional side that I would've liked to see played out further. Also, of course, I wanted more exploding heads.
As it is, though, Rubber ends up being only moderately successful. Had the film been longer (it's not even 90 minutes long), the filmmakers might have been able to explore both the tire's story and the spectators' story. With its running time, though, they only have time to rush through both parts. The end result is a flawed but unforgettable film that will keep you entertained throughout.
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