Rubin and Ed

Rubin and Ed is a quirky, offbeat comedy produced by Trent Harris in 1991, offering a unique blend of comedy and road trip adventure. The narrative evolves around its unlikely main characters - Rubin Farr, an eccentric loner played by Crispin Glover, and Ed Tuttle, a failed realtor portrayed by Howard Hesseman. Their peculiar dynamic forms the crux of the narrative, serving as the basis for the comedic elements throughout the story.

Crispin Glover’s Rubin Farr is a quintessential oddball - an antisocial misfit living with his equally eccentric mother (played by Karen Black), dressing in flamboyant attire, and harboring a deep affection for his pet cat. He is atypical in every way, which is perhaps why his unlikely friendship with Howard Hesseman’s Ed Tuttle strikes such a comedic chord. Ed, in stark contrast to Rubin, is a straight-laced man frustrated by his failing career in real estate and desperate for a change in fortunes.

Their unusual camaraderie takes the duo on a hapless desert expedition in search of a suitable location to bury Rubin’s deceased cat. This mission leads them on a series of absurd and comically nonsensical circumstances that underpin the film’s essence - it keeps viewers guessing and laughing in equal measure. Their trek across the sun-scorched landscape, each moment infused with surreal humor and bizarre moments, gives an unpredictable, whimsical twist to the standard road-trip trope.

The performances of the principal cast members, particularly Glover's and Hesseman's, effectively bring their oddball characters alive on-screen. Crispin Glover, with his uncanny ability to portray strange, offbeat characters, indeed excels in defining Rubin's eccentricities.

Likewise, Howard Hesseman as Ed Tuttle wonderfully portrays a disillusioned man clinging to a modicum of normalcy in his increasingly ludicrous situation. Karen Black, as Rubin's peculiar mother, leaves her own unique mark in her brief but memorable role.

Rubin and Ed is battleship gray and outrageously unusual, where comedy and quirkiness intermingle on a vast canvas of desert escapade. The humor is not for everyone, but for those who appreciate surreal comedy, it is an absolute delight. The film resonates with Harris’s characteristic style of surreal visual storytelling and deeply drawn characters that make the movie so distinct.

The unpredictability of Rubin and Ed lies not just in the storyline but also in the creative backdrop shown with striking visuals. The juxtaposition of the characters against the arid landscapes paints a vivid picture throughout the film. The cinematography makes exceptional use of the sparse desert backdrops to provide a striking contrast to the ludicrous scenarios playing out on screen.

Though not a standard crowd-pleaser, Rubin and Ed deserves attention for its willingness to push boundaries and play with tired genre conventions. Its inherent oddity is its strength, a facet that forms its offbeat charm.

The script is packed with memorable dialogues and hilarious exchanges that continually challenge and ridicule the notions of conventional society norms. The film subtly centers around themes of friendship, loneliness, struggle, and the search for purpose, all draped in a veil of off-the-wall humor.

Overall, Rubin and Ed is about as strange as they come. It is kooky, visually inventive, and loaded with unexpected humor that often veers into the realm of the random and bizarre. It's an interesting cinematic offering that still managed to generate a underlying heartwarming feeling underneath all its peculiarity.

In the end, Rubin and Ed might not live up to traditional expectations of what a comedy should be, but those who are open to a unique sense of humor and amusemant, this movie could turn into a delightful cult classic. The film playfully combines the familiar and the strange, resulting in a hard-to-define, absurdist adventure that holds a charm all of its own.