Rubber

Rubber is NOT a movie about a condom.  It is also not an action, a comedy, a revenge movie or anything that can be 'pigeonholed' with a 'definition.' 

            Rubber is about a sentient tire that telekinetically blows stuff up.  Like human heads.

            On to the review!

            This is an indie film.  Let's get that out of the way right now.  *deep breath* Rubber is a movie about a movie being watched by a live audience that is being manipulated by the actors and director who are watching and/or interacting with a tire that's chasing a hot woman and killing everything in its path.  *gasp for air*  Didja get all that?

            Okay, fine.  I'll try again.

            Rubber is ostensibly a movie about a sentient tire that has the capability to blow things up with psychokinetic powers.  Early on the tire sees a beautiful woman and begins to stalk her, killing anything and anyone that gets in between him and his goal....and anyone that disrespects him.  Of course, showing disrespect to a tire is sort of easy since most people don't stop to consider a regular tire's nonexistent feelings, there end up being a lot of bodies.

            On top of the simple plot, the movie itself is also a meta commentary on audiences and their expectations.  How they interact with actors, writers and producers is all commented on to one degree or another via an actual live audience watching the scenes of the primary film unfold.  How the hell do you put people watching a movie into a movie?  Easy!

            You give them binoculars and have them stand around in the middle of the desert.  Yeah, I want a pair of those binoculars too.  Several times, the movie cuts between the events of the tire and the commentary of the actors.  The audience primarily interacts with an agent of the film who is simply called Accountant (Jack Plotnick, voice of Xandir in Drawn Together).  The only audience member you need to know about is Wings Hauser, who is most certainly slumming it here.

            The only other person who seems to be 'in' on the fact that all the events are for a film is the police Lieutenant, Chad (Stephen Spinella).  He gives the opening monologue and makes a mid-film commentary on audience expectations as well as providing the 'law' in this film. 

            There's not much else I can say about this movie without giving away some of the absurd humor or moments of overt hostility that seems to be directed directly at the viewer.  This movie was either directed by a genius auteur or an angry, disillusioned failed actor who never made it in Hollywood....oh, wait, no.  The writer/director is French.  That may explain it too.

            A word of advice:  This movie is DIVISIVE.  You will either love it as being clever and original and entertaining, or you will despise it as being heavy-handed, clunky and indecipherable.  I honestly believe the difference is in how you view it. 

            I've spoken to 6 other people who saw this, and counting myself it's 5 for and 2 against.  The big difference is that the two who absolutely despised it both saw it alone, at individual times.  All five of us that really enjoyed it saw it in a group.  Beer may have been involved.

            Now, I'm not saying this is a party movie.  It's too quiet and slow at times for a large audience.  But this is the perfect film for 3-5 people who really want to watch something different, laugh together at the right times and express disbelief or frustration when necessary.

As usual, the film's quotes are in italics, ours are....not.

"Watch out for the chairs!"  "It's an Asian woman driving!"  "This is the worst slalom course ever."

"This is like a fucked up version of the matrix."

"This guy looks like Thomas Hayden Church's and James Wood's love baby."

"Everybody turn around."  "The donkey's over there."

"The tire doesn't talk, does it?"  "No, it still has the properties of a tire."  "Yeah, why would a tire talk?  That would just be silly."

"The music makes it feel like an indie game, like on XBox Live or something."

"Our little tire is becoming a sociopath.  Awww."  "Man, PETA is gonna be pissed."

"While he was asleep, they turned him into a tire swing."

"I wonder if they had to pay for this movie watching experience?"

"Awwww, Daddy doesn't love you."  "No, no one does."

”Anyone got any food?"  "Eat Fat Neil."  "Got a cock meat sandwich for ya."

"Kill a rabbit and he gets awesome 70's victory music.  Kill a human, he gets Mmmbop by Hanson."

"Hello, police?  Someone flipped me off."

"I'm trying to watch tire porn, asshole!"

"Fuck it, let's get off this movie."

"If you took away the knives, that would be a very dirty scene."

"A boy and his tire."  "I would see that movie."  "It's actually the sequel."

"Why couldn't you collect Yu-Gi-Oh cards like other kids your age?"

"I'm taking my tire and going home!"

"You're just supporting actors."  "Well, are we getting paid?"  "Fuck no."

"OH MY GOD WHY AM I SO STUPID!??!?!??"

"When I am done with movie, will I get Green Card?"

"Is she Hispanic or German?  She's got a Tommy Wiseau accent."

*Someone points out an inconsistency.* "Well now I hate this movie."  "That really kills the sense of realism."