The epic tale of a freak, a salesman, and a dead cat.
Written: Sep 05 '00 (Updated Sep 10 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Weird and amusing
Cons: Not quite as amusing as it wants to be
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| JavaDevil's Full Review: Rubin & Ed |
Crispin Glover is sick in the head. Even as George McFly in Back To The Future, his most mainstream role, you can see that the man is clearly crazy. What else can you say about a guy who celebrates his birthday twice a year? I can only imagine what condition he'll be in in the upcoming Charlie's Angels film, where he plays the villain. But the movie where he most unabashedly shows off his psychotic tendencies is the wacky 1991 road movie/buddy comedy Rubin & Ed.
Glover plays the Rubin in the title, who is a long-haired, platform shoe-wearing freak who lives with his mother, stays in his room all day, and keeps his dead cat in the freezer. Rubin's mom doesn't like this one bit and thinks her son needs to get out and make some new friends so she forces him out into the world to do just that. Man, I hate it when that happens.
The Ed of the film's title is Howard Hesseman (from TV's WKRP In Cincinnatti & Head Of The Class), a poor, divorced man who spends too much time on the phone trying to beg his ex-wife (Trilogy Of Terror's Karen Black) to take him back. When he's not spending his time being whipped by his ex, he's trying to get his spine back by being a salesperson for one of those self-improvement courses that's taken America by storm.
So Rubin, searching for a pal in the world besides his cryogenic cat, bumps into Ed and agrees to listen to one of Ed's sales pitches back at his own house. When Ed gets there, Rubin puts his cat into a cooler and steals Ed's car along with Ed himself. What for? Well, it seems that not only did Rubin want a new friend, he wanted someone to come along with him to find the perfect place to bury his cat. And thus begins their pseudo-epic journey into the desert with a frozen cat in tow.
I usually have a soft spot in my heart for movies about people who don't fit into normal society that well because, hey, I'm one of them. But while Rubin & Ed has many qualities of a classic cult movie, there seems to be something missing that would give this film more substance. Perhaps this movie just isn't wacky enough for my taste. Such a film that I really identify with is Soderbergh's Schizopolis, which is no doubt too over the top for many people.
It's not surprising that a movie this bizarre would have a cult following but I feel that this film is inferior to another made by the same director, Trent Harris. That would be the nutty, low-budget, sci-fi comedy Plan 10 From Outer Space (no relation to Ed Wood's infamous Plan 9) which is, perhaps along with Orgazmo, the only feature-length parody of Mormon theology in existence.
Still, despite my misgivings, I think that Rubin & Ed will appeal to other weirdos hiding behind their computers out there. Besides, can you truly hate a film in which the main character says things like, "My cat can eat a whole watermelon"? Nah. Didn't think so.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
JavaDevil
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Location: Von Braun City, Sea Of Tranquility, Moon
Reviews written: 53
Trusted by: 72 members
About Me:
Due to recent changes at the site, I've quit Epinions. No more reviews.
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