Rating:  

Starring: Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida, Ethan Cohn, Charley Koontz, Daniel Quinn, Devin Brochu, Hayley Holmes, Hayley Ramm, Robert.
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Director: Quentin Dupieux
Rating: R
Running Time: 82 Mins.
Release Date: April 1, 2011
Home Video Release Date: June 7, 2011
Box Office: $100 Thousand
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Realitism, Elle Driver, arte France Cinema, 1.85 Films, Backup Films, Sindika Dokolo, Canal+, and Magnet Releasing.

Written by: Quentin Dupieux.

In an era where people bemoan the lack of originality and fresh ideas in the movies, along comes “Rubber”, a film telling us the story of Robert…a rubber tire which rolls along a dusty, unnamed Southwestern town, and quickly learns he possesses the ability to blow things up by stopping, staring, and shaking until the targeted object explodes.

As bizarre as the basic premise of “Rubber” happens to be, there is something else going on here as well. Before we even meet the tire or see its abilities on display, an unmarked police car badly navigates an obstacle course of rickety wooden chairs and comes to a stop. A police officer (Stephen Spinella)opens and climbs out of the trunk of the car, is handed a glass of water, and then proceeds to lecture us, the viewer, on the fact that throughout motion picture history, films such as “Love Story”, “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” and the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” have events within them which take place for simply no reason.

The officer, later identified as Lieutenant Chad, addresses his remarks to a group of 15-20 onlookers who are then handed binoculars by a nerdy assistant (Jack Plotnick)and instructed to simply watch. Looking out into the vast openness of the desert for something to occur, the spectators have no idea what they are looking for. But they look…with great anticipation.

Eventually we, and the onlookers, see a rubber tire awakening from under a blanket of dirt and dust. Quickly thereafter the carnage begins as the tire tests out his abilities on innocent animals, and then later human beings. The results of Robert’s experiments are disgustingly bloody and soon, we have a serial killing tire rolling around, looking for more and more victims.

All of this is absurdist entertainment and very quickly “Rubber” becomes a rather pointed satire at not just modern filmmaking, but also the patrons who plunk down copious amounts of money for violent imagery, only to complain about being dissatisfied with the results. Director Quentin Dupieux, also the writer of the film, is making a rather profound statement with “Rubber”. As those onlookers continue to bicker, whine, and complain, Robert is laying waste to more and more folks, having siestas in a motel pool, watching television, and spying on a young, beautiful French woman as she showers and makes her way in and around these desolate surroundings.

Dupieux does not blur the lines of narrative structure and the Fourth Wall, as much as he rolls right through all the typical conventions to present his film in a most atypical manner. Never laugh out loud funny, but always sardonic in tone, “Rubber” is ambitious and goofy and, to a lesser extent, a bit angry as well.

In this world, the onlookers complain constantly and are given most of what people look for in the movies nowadays – gore, mystery, suspense, nudity, and comedy – all topped off with a menacing serial killing tire to deliver it all. Their ultimate fate may come off as convenient and/or a bit heavy-handed, but Dupieux’s insight into pop culture, and the mass consumption of it, could not be more spot on.

As off-putting as some of the content is in “Rubber”, and acknowledging that the shine starts to rust at approximately an hour or so into the 80-minute film, I nonetheless came away from “Rubber” smiling – smiling at the spot-on satirical statement, the imaginative creativity, and outright silliness of it all.

Should I See It?

YES

Cinephiles will eat this up – a serial killing tire blowing people up will be irresistible to a lot of movie buffs.

Fans of Quentin Dupieux’s previous work in the late-1990′s/early 2000′s as electronica artist Mr. Oizo will be drawn to this work as well.

If you like gore, there is plenty of it here. If you like satire and a mocking and biting tone at pop culture, there is also plenty of it here. “Rubber” is one of the most originally conceived films to come along in recent memory.

Those who like to mock and defiantly retreat from the most popular movies, music, and other forms of mainstream entertainment, will likely feel a kinship with the film.

I can count on maybe my two hands the number of people I know that will actually consider sitting down and watching this. While Quentin Dupieux’s concept is indeed the first jab at moviegoers, the premise of this film is too obtuse and distant for most people to even consider.

There are long stretches of time where little to nothing happens and tests the patience of the viewer. While that is intentional, most people may become bored at the inconsistent delivery of action and story to stay with this for very long. Also, by talking directly to the viewers and the idea of a movie-happening-within-a-movie will seem highbrow and probably “stupid” to a lot of people.

It is gory and unapologetically so. Obviously those with sensitivity to blood and violence, need not take part.