'Rubber' is a Flat Farce

An awful lot of hype has gone into the movie "Rubber," a new wave French horror comedy by writer and director Quentin Dupieux.  Reviews from the Cannes Film Festival were sharply divided, but when I learned the movie was about a tire named Robert, I have to admit my curiosity was piqued.

Sadly, $10 and an hour-and-a-half later, I find myself searching for the proper words to describe an overly long, pretentious movie that uses an inanimate object as a means to criticize Hollywood.

The movie starts out well enough, with a silly monologue about randomness and actions and events having no rhyme or reason. Afterward, the tire awakens in the desert, only to discover it has telekinetic abilities, which it uses to destroy everything from a beer bottle to a rabbit.

Robert (the tire) begins his homicidal rampage quickly, blowing up the heads of anyone who gets in his way, kind of like "Scanners" ... but with a tire.  He sets his eyes, or lack thereof, on a female character, who becomes the object of his affection.

At this point, the movie shows amazing potential and easily generates quite a few laughs. The scene with Robert in the shower was so absurd, but the lightheartedness of everything just makes the viewer giggle.

Had the movie wrapped up by the 30-minute mark, it would be one of the all-time greatest short films; however, Dupieux had other intentions, which led to another hour of viewing which can only be described as irritating and painful.

The foundation of the film, which is to showcase randomness, quickly loses its appeal, ending up being nothing more than a cheap, redundant gimmick. Though quite innovative in a small sample, the premise lacks the strength to support a full-length movie. 

What I do find interesting is how many people volunteer to defend this atrocious film. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to piece together the real motive, which is to vilify Hollywood's lack of vision, as well as its dependence on sequels. This is common knowledge, and we don't need a lengthy movie about a tire to reinforce it.

Plus, the whole concept of complaining about time-wasting films that lack purpose by creating another time wasting film that lacks purpose makes me wish Robert was here to make my head explode.

To be fair, the first 30 minutes are a solid 4 out of 5 stars, though the following hour doesn't even deserve a star, and that's being generous. The movie hasn't been released in theaters yet, but it is widely available on On Demand for a hefty price of $10. 

My recommendation is to save your money, and save your time. 

If you decide to look into the film, visit http://www.rubberthemovie.com