Rubber City Rockers - Part 1
Genre: Comedy
Director: David Wain
Writer: D.R. Cobb
Based on the graphic novel Punk Rock and Trailer Parks by John "Derk" Backderf
Cast: Ross Lynch, Raymond J. Barry, Charlie Tahan, Logan Miller, Natalie Alyn Lind and Justin Long
Plot: The lanky and bespectacled super-geek Otto (Ross Lynch) speeds down the streets of suburban Richford, Ohio, in his beat-up '68 Mercury Cougar, leaving a trail of black smoke and oil in his wake. He pulls up to Richford High School, featuring a boulder in front spray-painted with "Class of 1980 RULEZ".
In Biology class, the teacher bemoans that a religious girl has demanded class time to offer a Biblical rebuttal to their recent lesson on Darwin. The teacher rolls his eyes and gives the girl the floor. Suddenly the door flies open, and Otto announces that "The Baron" has arrived. He makes a comment to his classmate Pete (Charlie Tahan) about how there's nothing hotter than a Jesus freak. Pete says that nobody's that horny. Pete asks Otto if he can still take him to a concert in the nearby metropolis of Akron, Ohio. Otto confirms that Pete will indeed have the services of The Baron that evening, but that it has to be after the football game since he is in the band after all.
After the school marching band performs, Otto and the rest of the band retires to the stands with his trombone. Someone in the crowd compliments the show, but Otto says they sucked, that the flag squad was out of step half the show. Pete, nearby, comments on how much Otto is sweating. Otto says he gives it his all before sitting down. He soon begins commentating on the football game going on, making fun of the Richford team for being down 23 at the start of the 2nd half. He then turns his gaze to the cheerleaders, and the ever beautiful Teri Workman (Natalie Alyn Lind) in particular. Suddenly, Otto's leg is burned by a cigarette coming from under the bleachers. He looks underneath, and a bunch of burnouts laugh at him. He tells them to go ahead and yuck it up, then orders the trombone section to empty their spit valves under the bleachers, covering the burnouts in old spit and slide oil.
After the game Otto, still in his band uniform pants and spats, meets Pete and Wes (Logan Miller) in front of the school and shows them to his car, the Cougar, one of Detroit's classics. Wes wonders whether the car will even make it out of the parking lot. Cut to: the Cougar barreling down a dark road. Wes and Pete sit in the back where they notice the floor is just a piece of plywood. Otto tells them to hold it down with their feet. Otto reaches for a tape recorder, turns it on and rips a loud fart into it. Pete and Wes are baffled. Otto explains that it's his documenting all of farts for the entire school year with plans to turn it in as his senior project. Wes, still freaked out by the plywood floor, wonders why he can't sit up front. Otto tells him The Baron like to chauffeur.
They arrive in downtown Akron, which just a few years prior had been the rubber capital of the world, but now looks more like a wasteland, with Otto comparing the city to the Charlton Heston movie, The Omega Man, which Pete and Wes of course haven't seen. They arrive at the club, The Bank, an abandoned bank that has been turned into a punk club. Otto asks who they're seeing, and Wes tells him that it's Klaus Nomi, a theatrical German who sings in weird operatic falsetto. Before the show, the three head up to a balcony in the club and find Klaus Nomi (Justin Long) himself sitting in a corner upstairs. Otto walks right up to him and welcomes him the the Rubber City. Nomi is immediately taken by the spats Otto is wearing on his shoes as part of his band uniform and offers to buy them from Otto, who refuses his money and simply gives them to Nomi free of charge.
Before the show starts, Pete excitedly tells Otto that despite Akron being a belly-up Rustbelt hellhole, it is in fact a hotbed of punk rock. I started a few years prior with Devo, and after them the town became a breeding ground for punk and new wave music. They head down to the main floor as Nomi begins his show sing "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" in a his falsetto voice (with a strong German accent). Otto pulls out his tape recorder, not to record the show, but to once again record a fart.
In Biology class, the teacher bemoans that a religious girl has demanded class time to offer a Biblical rebuttal to their recent lesson on Darwin. The teacher rolls his eyes and gives the girl the floor. Suddenly the door flies open, and Otto announces that "The Baron" has arrived. He makes a comment to his classmate Pete (Charlie Tahan) about how there's nothing hotter than a Jesus freak. Pete says that nobody's that horny. Pete asks Otto if he can still take him to a concert in the nearby metropolis of Akron, Ohio. Otto confirms that Pete will indeed have the services of The Baron that evening, but that it has to be after the football game since he is in the band after all.
After the school marching band performs, Otto and the rest of the band retires to the stands with his trombone. Someone in the crowd compliments the show, but Otto says they sucked, that the flag squad was out of step half the show. Pete, nearby, comments on how much Otto is sweating. Otto says he gives it his all before sitting down. He soon begins commentating on the football game going on, making fun of the Richford team for being down 23 at the start of the 2nd half. He then turns his gaze to the cheerleaders, and the ever beautiful Teri Workman (Natalie Alyn Lind) in particular. Suddenly, Otto's leg is burned by a cigarette coming from under the bleachers. He looks underneath, and a bunch of burnouts laugh at him. He tells them to go ahead and yuck it up, then orders the trombone section to empty their spit valves under the bleachers, covering the burnouts in old spit and slide oil.
After the game Otto, still in his band uniform pants and spats, meets Pete and Wes (Logan Miller) in front of the school and shows them to his car, the Cougar, one of Detroit's classics. Wes wonders whether the car will even make it out of the parking lot. Cut to: the Cougar barreling down a dark road. Wes and Pete sit in the back where they notice the floor is just a piece of plywood. Otto tells them to hold it down with their feet. Otto reaches for a tape recorder, turns it on and rips a loud fart into it. Pete and Wes are baffled. Otto explains that it's his documenting all of farts for the entire school year with plans to turn it in as his senior project. Wes, still freaked out by the plywood floor, wonders why he can't sit up front. Otto tells him The Baron like to chauffeur.
They arrive in downtown Akron, which just a few years prior had been the rubber capital of the world, but now looks more like a wasteland, with Otto comparing the city to the Charlton Heston movie, The Omega Man, which Pete and Wes of course haven't seen. They arrive at the club, The Bank, an abandoned bank that has been turned into a punk club. Otto asks who they're seeing, and Wes tells him that it's Klaus Nomi, a theatrical German who sings in weird operatic falsetto. Before the show, the three head up to a balcony in the club and find Klaus Nomi (Justin Long) himself sitting in a corner upstairs. Otto walks right up to him and welcomes him the the Rubber City. Nomi is immediately taken by the spats Otto is wearing on his shoes as part of his band uniform and offers to buy them from Otto, who refuses his money and simply gives them to Nomi free of charge.
Before the show starts, Pete excitedly tells Otto that despite Akron being a belly-up Rustbelt hellhole, it is in fact a hotbed of punk rock. I started a few years prior with Devo, and after them the town became a breeding ground for punk and new wave music. They head down to the main floor as Nomi begins his show sing "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" in a his falsetto voice (with a strong German accent). Otto pulls out his tape recorder, not to record the show, but to once again record a fart.
While I can see a certain auditory enjoying the show, I didn't find enough redeeming qualities to it after just the first episode to qualify it for a fresh rating. It definitely intrigues me, but I was kind of expecting more, I guess.
I'm not really sure who this series is for to be honest. The theme and overall feel make me want to say this is directed towards teenagers and young adult, but unless you like fart jokes, you should look elsewhere for the edgy humor usually associated with these demographics.
I get that it won't be a show for everyone, but I think if you don't take Rubber City Rockers seriously, it could be a cult series in the making. I'm not usually high on Disney channel-alumni, but Ross Lynch is decent in the lead role and the cast work well together, creating a decent, yet bizarre series that has its own style you either "get" or don't.
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