Plot
When Robert, a tire, discovers his destructive telepathic powers, he soon sets his sights on a desert town; in particular, a mysterious woman becomes his obsession.
Release Year: 2010
Rating: 5.8/10 (9,204 voted)
Critic's Score: 59/100
Director:
Quentin Dupieux
Stars: Stephen Spinella, Roxane Mesquida, Wings Hauser
Storyline When Robert, a tire, discovers his destructive telepathic powers, he soon sets his sights on a desert town; in particular, a mysterious woman becomes his obsession.
Cast: Stephen Spinella
-
Lieutenant Chad
Jack Plotnick
-
Accountant
Wings Hauser
-
Man in wheelchair
Roxane Mesquida
-
Sheila
Ethan Cohn
-
Film buff Ethan
Charley Koontz
-
Film buff Charley
Daniel Quinn
-
Dad
Devin Brochu
-
Son
Hayley Holmes
-
Teenager Cindy
Haley Ramm
-
Teenager Fiona
Cecelia Antoinette
-
Black woman
David Bowe
-
M. Hughes
Remy Thorne
-
Zach
Tara Jean O'Brien
-
Cleaning lady
Thomas F. Duffy
-
Cop Xavier
Filming Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $500,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $16,346
(USA)
(3 April 2011)
(5 Screens)
Gross: $98,017
(USA)
(12 June 2011)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
One of the Spectators is played by Daniel Quinn, who starred in
Scanner Cop as a man who could make people's heads explode with his mind, just as the tire does in this film.
Goofs:
Continuity:
When the Tricycle is moving along the road (At 1:14:41) the picture flips and the bell and lone handlebar grip streamer move from the left-hand side to the right hand-side and then back again.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Lieutenant Chad:
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. In Oliver Stone's JFK, why is the President suddenly assassinated by some stranger? No reason. In the excellent Chain Saw Massacre by Tobe Hooper, why don't we ever see the characters go to the bathroom or wash their hands like people do in real life? Absolutely no reason. Worse, in The Pianist by Polanski, how come this guy has to hide and live like a bum when he plays the piano so well? Once again the answer is, no reason. I could go on for hours with more examples. The list is endless. You probably never gave it a thought, but all great films, without exception, contain an important element of no reason. And you know why? Because life itself is filled with no reason. Why can't we see the air all around us? No reason. Why are we always thinking? No reason. Why do some people love sausages and other people hate sausages? No fucking reason. Cop Xavier:
[honks the horn]
Come on! Don't waste your time explaining that garbage. Let's go! Lieutenant Chad:
Just a minute, let me finish.
[looks back at the audience]
Lieutenant Chad:
Ladies, gentlemen, the film you are about to see today is an homage to the "no reason" - that most powerful element of style.
[pours his glass of water on the ground before getting back into the trunk of the police car]
User Review
Deep Tread Indeed in this Particular Tire
Rating: 10/10
It was a rainy Sunday and I went looking for cheese, but found a savory
meal. Frankly, I was hoping to kill off a few brain cells in the
mindless fun of watching a movie about a killer tire. Expecting
something along the lines of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, I wanted to
drown myself in delicious B-movie goodness. This coming from the man
that cannot change the channel when my remote calls up images of Joan
Collins being eaten by giant ants in Empire of the Ants.
Yet soon I realized that this film was so much more than horror spoof
or a silly gimmick film. The movie opens with a desert road randomly
strewn with simple wooden parsonage chairs facing in all directions.
Next a car appears and begins deliberately swerving into the chairs,
breaking each one of them, until it comes to a halt. At that point, a
sheriff emerges (from out of the trunk?!) and knocks on the driver door
where he is handed a full glass of water. The sheriff breaks the fourth
wall and begins addressing the audience by speaking of the "no reason"
principle of famous movies like E.T., Love Story and Texas Chainsaw
Massacre. This narration immediately reminded me of the criminologist
from Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I suddenly did not know what to
expect from this movie.
I honestly think the less said about this film the better. Suffice it
to say that Rubber is one part B-movie schlock, one part David Lynch,
and one part Hitchcock. (Did I just actually go there?) On my first
watching of the movie, I appreciated its style. The camera angles, the
homage to Psycho, the riveting and unnerving sound track were somehow
quite effective in producing suspense. Quite remarkable when the serial
tire is a generic tire! Juxtaposed against this atmospheric
cinematography was a very healthy dose of absurdity and dark humor.
This makes for an extremely interesting viewing experience, where the
audience switches abruptly from anticipation to laughter to abject
confusion.
The sheriff tells us that there is "no reason" for this film. What a
deceit! Because there is a reason for virtually everything – from the
opening scene of the destruction of chairs, to the irony of a Nascar
race, to the well placed remake of the song "Just Don't Want to be
Lonely" to (yes!) the turkey. Irony abounds even as our in character
heroine proclaims that she cannot read the lines of dialog because they
are garbage.
The second time I watched this movie, I focused on its true theme. I
realized with delight that the movie is about movies and their
audiences. Pay very close attention to every scene with the bystanders
on the road and you will realize that the killer tire story is not the
actual plot at all. Also, on second viewing, you can revel in the
brilliant personification of the killer tire (Robert). A tire that
learns, sleeps, recreates, dreams, and even has flashbacks to his
previous inanimate incarnation on an actual car. Observe the film
structure and use of the reflecting glass and incineration scene as key
catalysts. You will be amazed at all you missed when first watching
this movie.
Astonishingly, this became my favorite movie of 2011 so far. Lovers of
film should not miss this.
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