I think I first found out about Crispin Glover’s Rubin character from a Homestar Runner Halloween cartoon (one of the characters was dressed up as him). Apparently, Glover first used the Rubin character when he went on Letterman as him and did this almost Andy Kaufman-esque bit of awkward comedy, nearly kicking Letterman in the face. I’m guessing at some point after this, he got the opportunity to make a movie based on the character. Well, if SNL can do the same thing to mixed success, it’s worth giving it a shot (granted, Rubin and Ed predated most of those movies, but you know what I mean). The resulting film is a prime slice of quirky 90s comedy. A slacker/man-child main character, an off-beat tone, gross-out elements, and a few wild fantasy and dream sequences for good measure. It’s a fun little ride and I think makes for a good entry movie towards the odder side of cinema.
The film follows the two titular leads: Rubin Farr, a socially awkward guy who lives in his mother’s motel, and Ed Tuttle, a struggling salesman who works for a motivational pyramid scheme that he’s bought into. Rubin’s mother is tired of him always hanging around his room and sends him out to make a friend. He meets Ed, who tries to sell him on Ed’s organization and take him to a seminar for it. Rubin accepts and tells Ed to pick him up from the motel later. Really, he’s just trying to use Ed as a way to placate his mother, who he’s also invited over at the same time under the pretense of them all having dinner together. When his mom runs late, Rubin tries to stall Ed, much to the latter’s annoyance, and Ed’s frustration comes to a head when he discovers Rubin’s dead cat in the freezer. Apparently, Rubin has been keeping it in there because he “hasn’t found the right spot to bury it. Ed is able to convince Rubin to come to the seminar if they bury the cat along the way, but Rubin gets behind the wheel first and ends up getting them both lost in the desert. This leads to a series of buddy-buddy road trip story beats: wandering around, arguing, splitting up, feeling guilty about splitting up, reuniting, and, of course, self-discovery. In addition, there are the previously mentioned imagination/dream sequences, these being Ed imagining running over his ex-wife, and Rubin dreaming of himself relaxing in a lake while his cat water-skis from a boat driven by a pin-up model on Rubin’s wall. I don’t want to give away too much, as this kind of film is more meant to be a fun, quirky ride than anything else and you should really experience the oddball humor and interactions for yourself. I’ll just end off this section by saying it all comes together in the end.
This film very much fits in with the oddball comedy style of its time (and possibly one of the first). There’s this encompassing awkward, off-kilter vibe to the whole thing that let’s you know we are not dealing with your average Joes here. Rubin is a great embodiment of the left-of-center weirdo, and Glover really nails it, what with his unsociable delivery and immature tone. He was honestly born to play this kind of role. Ed, on the other hand, is a classic loser schmuck that is no where near as collected and successful as he presents himself to be. But even though we’re dealing with two very flawed and sometimes irritating people, you still find yourself sympathizing with them for the most part. Rubin clearly has had issues with letting go, considering how he continually changes his mind about where to bury his dead cat, and clearly has socialization issues (or fears) and hasn’t been able to or allowed himself to try and make friends, something that many can relate to. Ed is clearly being held back by his inner anger/frustration and allows himself to get duped by a motivational pyramid scheme, but he’s clearly trying to better himself and isn’t a complete jerk, going back for Rubin after abandoning him at one point. They’re characters that you ultimately want to see get through all this even if you’re frustrated with their behavior sometimes. Some of the compositional choices in this film are rather interesting, I must say. One that stuck out to me was in an early scene, when Ed walks into Rubin’s apartment and sees him on the couch, we get this almost Kubrick-esque wide shot of Rubin sitting down that looks like something out of Clockwork Orange or The Shining. Really helps to get across that “get out now” feeling that Ed probably has at that moment. Another is a ground-shot of the two walking away from the camera towards the horizon in the desert. It gave off a feel somewhere between western and arthouse that helped to emphasize the directionless trek they were on. In general, the film does seem to embrace a semi-arthouse style, but it never goes too far in that direction. It always manages to remain somewhat grounded, even with as weird as it gets, and in that way, I think it could work as a method to ease someone into artier cinema. It has some strange elements, but it still manages to be generally relatable, a good midpoint if you will. I should note that it does have some 90s-era gross-out bits, such as the dead cat, Rubin drinking his shoe sweat for hydration, and later drinking the melted ice in the cooler they’re keeping the cat in. This was a trend that was definitely “in” at the time, but might be unappealing to audiences now, so be aware of that, though ultimately there isn’t that much of it in the film. I believe that the quirky characters, the arty-esque style, and the classic buddy road-trip premise come together to make a solid indie comedy film. Granted, I’m not sure if indie is quite the right word for it, but in terms of being not-quite-mainstream and not-quite-arthouse, I’d say this film fits right in.
Now, I won’t say that this film is an absolute favorite of mine. I found the road-trip story-line to be a bit predictable and it wasn’t anywhere near as off-kilter as I usually like, but for what it is, I’d still say it’s a good little movie. If you’re wanting to try out some odder films but don’t want to just dive straight into the pool, as it were, then I’d start with a film like this. It’s a good starter on that front and a fun ride in general. Give it a watch and enjoy the Glover-ness.
Note to readers: I apologize for missing my normal Friday deadline. I got caught up in other things and wasn’t able to upload until now. Thank you for your continued support and I’ll keep trying to get a review up every other Friday. If I miss Friday again, I’ll make sure it at least gets up by Saturday.