Review of Rubber (2010) by Jonny P — 30 Jun 2016

A movie whose protagonist is a tire with psychokinetic powers? Why not! "Rubber" is an "homage to no reason" or, as I like to think of it, and anti-film. It is a satire that shows how an audience is willing to sit through the most nonsensical story of a film as long as a production studio calls it "entertainment.

" As the opening monologue explains, all of the events of the movie occur for no reason. One of the more clever aspects of the film is the integration of an audience into the film. One would expect this audience to be watching the film in the theater but to emphasize the absurdity of watching this story, they are in the middle of the desert watching through binoculars.

The satirical nature of the film is much easier to understand the second time around (yes, I watched this twice) but it spends too much time in the realm of "unwatchable." There is literally no reason for any of the events that occur.

Whether it is Robert (the tire who has become self aware) making things explode or the "spectators" getting sick eating turkey, the tiresome (pun intended) film is an ode to the banal. I'll admit that the first time, I had unreasonably high hopes for this film as I believed that it would be a dumb-looking concept that turned out to be wildly entertaining.

I was wrong. I should also admit that the second time, I was looking forward to absorbing the deeper meaning behind it but was instead struck by how unwatchable it really is. I was just so anxious for the "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely" sequence and couldn't believe that it took over ten minutes to get there.

Some of the random moments are mildly amusing (like a tire watching NASCAR on tv) and the animation of Robert is impressive (stop motion, I'm assuming?), but it is still incredibly difficult to sit through this.

Whether you are hoping for an entertaining film about a homicidal tire or an impressive commentary on the film industry, you will find neither in "Rubber.".