Rubin and Ed | |
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Directed by | Trent Harris |
Produced by | Paul Webster |
Written by | Trent Harris |
Starring | Crispin Glover Howard Hesseman Karen Black Michael Greene Anna Louise Daniels |
Music by | Fred Myrow |
Editing by | Brent A. Schoenfeld |
Distributed by | IRS Media (1992) (USA) |
Release date(s) | 1991 |
Running time | 82 minutes |
Language | English |
Rubin and Ed is an American independent comedy-buddy film written and directed by Trent Harris and released in 1991. It is about an eccentric, unsociable young man who is forced by his mother to make some friends before she'll return his stereo to him. He is joined on a trip through a desert by a pyramid scheme salesman, to assist in finding a location to bury a frozen cat.
Crispin Glover appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in 1987 dressed and in character as Rubin Farr. This caused much confusion to David Letterman as he, after almost being kicked in the face by Glover, walked off his own set while still on the air.
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Crispin Glover plays Rubin Farr, a reclusive slacker with a pageboy haircut who lives with his mother, is in love with a bikini model whose poster is on his bedroom wall and wears a pair of "magic", super-hero-like black platform shoes. Rubin spends his days staring at the poster in his bedroom and mourning the death of his pet cat by listening to Mahler as he paces and squeaks the dead cat's yellow plastic squeaky mouse. Concerned that her son has no friends and no real direction, Rubin's mom takes away his stereo, and therefore his means of mourning, until Rubin goes out and "makes friends". This results in an awkward attempt by Rubin to pick up a woman at the swimming pool by telling her, "I want you to meet my mother", of course, no go. Enter Howard Hesseman as Ed Tuttle, a down on his luck real estate salesman who tries to get Rubin to attend a seminar that is part of a pyramid scheme.
Ed has problems of his own. He is a part of an organization that makes money through a pyramid scheme, and Ed has been less than successful in recruiting new members. He also suffers quite a bit of verbal abuse from his ex-wife, Rula, played by Karen Black. Ed meets Rubin and asks him questions as a part of the organization's survey. While Ed sees this as a way to get a new member to attend the seminar, Rubin sees Ed as a way to get his stereo back from his mom. Rubin agrees to go to the seminar if Ed will come to the apartment to meet his mother first. Ed agrees and arrives at Rubin's apartment at exactly 6:00 pm, the agreed upon time. Rubin stalls Ed by leaving the room because his mother isn't home from work yet. While waiting for Rubin Ed helps himself to some ice water and discovers Rubin's dead cat in the freezer -- and drops it on the kitchen floor. Rubin explains to Ed that he hasn't found the perfect burial site for his pet and now unhappy with Ed then that he will not be attending the seminar -- he demands the Ed leave. Seeing an opportunity, Ed offers to help Rubin find a good place to bury the cat if Rubin will attend the seminar. Rubin "agrees" and places kitty's corpse in a cooler, then into the trunk of Ed's car, jumps into the driver's seat, drives past the seminar and straight into the desert. Things go awry, and start to really get weird as they stop for beer, drink said beer, become drunk, then lost and wander through the desert for hours, maybe days, in search of the perfect spot to bury kitty. The two bicker throughout, Rubin hallucinates, gets lost and at one point, in the throes of dehydration, drinks water from the cooler of his now thawing dead cat. Ed manages to wander out of the desert and finds civilization and a pay phone, but then returns to the desert to search for Rubin. He finds Rubin passed out in a cave, which ultimately becomes the perfect place to bury Rubin's dead pet.
There are touching moments though, such as when Rubin and Ed finally bury the cat, Ed looks at Rubin to see him crying and realizes that however strange Rubin is, he is another human being in anguish because he has lost the only thing that ever loved him. Later, Rubin sees the way Ed's vicious ex-wife treats him and, empathizes by flinging from his foot his magic platform shoe...It seems that finally Rubin has made a friend.
Rubin and Ed was filmed in Utah in Salt Lake City, Hanksville, and Goblin Valley State Park.
Actor | Role |
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Howard Hesseman | Ed Tuttle |
Crispin Glover | Rubin Farr |
Karen Black | Rula |
Michael Greene | Mr. Busta |
Brittney Lewis | Poster Girl |
Anna Louise Daniels | Rubin's Mom |
Ray Gordon | Barking Man |
Dorene Nielsen | Ed's Mom |
Frank Magner | Bob |
Aaron Tranberg | Desk Sergeant |
Patrick Michael Collins | Lacky |
Jonathan Chapin | Brat |
Jane Mendenhall | Woman By Pool |
James Nielsen | Ed's Dad |
Diane St. Cyr | Bonnie |
Michael Scott | Jimbo |