'Rubber'
(Stephen Spinella, Wings Hauser, et al / DVD / R / 2011 / Magnolia Home Entertainment)
Overview: 'Rubber' is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert and then suddenly and inexplicably comes to life.
DVD Verdict: For the record, 'Rubber' is a very funny 30 minute short horror satire expanded into an 80 minute mediocre movie! However, the brilliant premise of a tire wreaking revenge across the desert and falling in love is gutbustingly funny in short bits at a time.
The Tire (listed as Robert in the credits) humanizes itself by wobbling, rolling, shimmying and doing unexpected things throughout, but when Robert gets mad, heads are gonna blow. They also discover a penchant for NASCAR and swimming pools.
With a premise about as ridiculous as anything SyFy has served up (you know, the people who gave us Sharktopus vs. Piranhaconda., I expected this thing to peg the old Cheese-o-Meter. C'mon, a tire comes to life and starts killing everyone in sight? Instead, what we have here is a very funny, very literate, and very absurd little film with some great performances!
Indeed, Wings Hauser does some scene stealing as a spectator (once you see it you will understand). Meanwhile, Robert is rolling through the desert, blowing up things he can't mow down, and having a tire epiphany when he comes across a junkyard where the leftover tires are being thrown atop a blazing pile! And so, in conclusion, ignore the fact that this tire is over-stuffed and you'll enjoy the fun! This is a Widescreen presentation (1.66:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
www.magpictures.com