'Rubber' — 3 out of 5 stars
"In the Steven Spielberg movie 'E.T,' why is the alien brown?"
"No reason."
"In 'Love Story,' why do the two characters fall madly in love with each other?"
"No reason."
This spiel - delivered by a sheriff who pops out of his trunk - opens up "Rubber," one of the most bizarre and non-sequitur films of the last decade.
Centering on a killer tire that, for "no reason," starts rolling around the dessert killing practically everyone and everything in its path. It is never explained why the tire comes to life, or why the tire gains the ability to make anything explode just by staring at it. It's simply a killing tire. And the tire's name is Robert.
Director Quentin Dupieux crafts a bitingly hilarious tale that constantly toys with both the audience and the expectations of movies. It plays with the fourth wall more than "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," but rather than talking to the audience about what's happening in the film, the characters in "Rubber" actually talk about the film.
The film is littered with familiar faces (Fat Neil from "Community"), but everyone stays just vaguely familiar enough so that almost all audience interest falls on a killer tire that keeps, y'know, killing everyone.
But "Rubber" is much more than a gimmicky experiment. It's a meta-film wrapped up in hilarity that continually pokes fun at Hollywood and features more exploding heads than "Scanners." But if nothing in that last sentence excites or at least peaks your interests, then don't go watch the film. "Rubber" is definitely not a film for everyone. It's a very specific film for a specific kind of audience. If this sounds like fun, it's definitely worth it. If not, just go see "Scream 4."