CRISPIN GLOVER & HOWARD HESSEMAN TRIPPING 'RUBIN AND ED'

Crispin Glover in RUBIN AND ED Year: 1991

RUBIN AND ED is a road movie about the road to nowhere, and it’s difficult to tell which character… Rubin Farr, a longhaired freak with boomerang elevator shoes or Ed Tuttle, a divorced businessman who puts all his faith, time and money in a pyramid scheme seminar… could be a bigger loser than Rubin, who, living in his mother’s apartment building, needing the perfect place to bury his cat, and hijacks Ed for the journey… But Ed, who met Rubin going door-to-door, has to return the car belonging to the group’s egomaniac leader played by THE CLONES actor Michael Greene.

What’s really surprising is that kooky Crispin Glover, a very capable actor in mainstream flicks like BACK TO THE FUTURE, wields his oddball persona without going overboard (George McFly is more offbeat), leaving most of the rambling, energetic dialogue to Howard Hesseman’s frantic Ed Tuttle, written and directed by Glover’s pal Trent Harris, and you’d think RUBIN AND ED would be a vehicle to let Glover's freaky behavior shine in. Especially since, in promoting the film on David Letterman, Glover, dressed in Rubin’s retro clothing, feigned karate kicking the caustic host in an Andy Kaufman fashion – and was banned from LATE NITE… for a little while, anyway.

Kicking front w/ David Letterman R&E Score: ***1/2

But Hesseman’s Ed doesn’t have to worry about being punted by his loony sidekick...

Rubin drinks water from the cooler where his dead cat’s kept, and gulps down sweat from his odor eaters when both he and Ed, after the car breaks down, are lost in the endless Utah desert where Rubin hallucinates a gorgeous bikini girl and his cat on water-skis while, later on, Ed deals with bitchy phone calls from his ex wife, Karen Black’s Rula. Eventually, Ed’s constant complaining tapers down and a bond occurs between the two polar opposites.

The cast aside, the best thing about RUBIN AND ED is it never tries to say or mean anything in particular. Following the 1980's, there's a subliminal message about existentialism versus capitalism, but the characters lead the way, providing a unique road trip bridging bizarre arthouse and conventional cinema.

"Andy Warhol Sucks A Big One" gets a laugh from Rubin... Glover would play AW in THE DOORS the same year

Crispin Glover and Howard Hesseman doing a CITIZEN KANE imitation from RUBIN AND ED

Crispin Glover points the way in RUBIN AND ED

Crispin Glover sees his Poster Girl come to life in RUBIN AND ED

Poster Girl Brittney Lewis looking hot in RUBIN AND ED

Future THE STAND starlet Brittney Lewis in RUBIN AND ED

Rubin's water skiing cat Simon from RUBIN AND ED being pulled by...

Future THE STAND hottie Brittney Lewis as the Poster Girl in RUBIN AND ED

Brittney Lewis here as the literal POSTER GIRL in RUBIN AND ED

Brittney Lewis in THE STAND reviewed here on Cult Film Freak (and she's suing David Copperfield too!)