If there’s anything There’s Something About Mary taught us, it’s that masturbating can get people into sticky situations. Ben Stiller’s moment of sexual preparation spawned one of the best gags in 90’s gross-out comedy flicks, and since then, the topic has become almost strictly one-liner material. That is, until Bobby Miller’s Tub, a short film that teaches us there are far worse consequences to touching yourself than walking around with a splat of jizz hanging off of your earlobe.
The short – which originally started out as a joke between the director and a friend, who he said relieved himself so much in the shower that there were legions of babies down in the sewer (I wonder how they got along with the alligators…) – tells the story of Paul (Eric M. Levy), who hits the shower to flog the bishop one evening after his live-in girlfriend (Megan Raye Manzi) turns down his advances. The next morning, as he’s getting ready for work, he notices an odd sound and a strange cord coming from the tub. After pulling a mutant baby out of the drain, he realizes that hairy palms are the least of his problems.

Miller’s short is much more than a one-note joke however. As Paul makes his way to his overly stressful job, his gut reaction is to chuck the child in the garbage, but after some time to think about it, his paternal instincts kick in and like the parents in The Brood, Grace, and countless others realize, having a mutant baby doesn’t change the fact that it’s your baby. Trying to juggle his life and the newfound responsibility of fatherhood, Paul attempts keeping the baby on the down low from his colleagues and girlfriend, which ironically end up alienates him as much as showing them the baby would.

Tub is a fun dark comedy that is as influenced by David Cronenberg as it is by Larry Cohen. Boasting great special effects (the baby looks like the zombie tike from Peter Jackson’s Brain Dead) and performances, and having a script that is both heartfelt and disturbing, Miller’s short is an entertaining romp through taboo territories. If you can push yourself past the somewhat juvenile setup, you’ll find yourself with a well-made and, at times, touching exploration of fatherhood.

Special Features

Commentary – The first of the two tracks included on the disc features director Bobby Miller and cinematographer Matthew Sanchez, and is the more technical of the commentaries. Sanchez is talking over the phone, and the quality of the connection is very apparent, containing a lot of crackling and echoing. The second track featuring Miller again, this time accompanied by lead actor Eric Levy. While it’s obvious that Miller has great comradery with both guys, it’s a little stronger with Levy, and it’s the better of the two tracks.

On Set Video Diary (2:34) – A lot of great baby footage is here, including a montage of the different stages of completion. The rest of the featurette consists of set building, rehearsal footage, and general tomfoolery.

Deleted Scene With Intro (0:50) – Preceded by a brief introduction by Miller, the deleted scene has Paul playing with the baby in his workplace’s bathroom, and then trying to sneak it past his boss who is attempting to confront him about an outburst. It has a cute moment or two, but other than that, it’s a fairly standard deleted scene.

Sundance Diary (3:00) – A documentation of the cast and crew’s trip to their debut screening that covers everything from sleeping arrangements to the humorous occurrence of Miller being asked the SAME EXACT QUESTIONS at every single screening Q&A.

GordonAndTheWhale.com Video Interview (5:11) – A video interview with Miller and GordonAndTheWhale editor Chase Whale that goes over all the standard Q&A questions. Although Miller gives a fine interview, it’s marred with sounds problems (high-pitched humming that is most likely the result of having a cell phone too close to the video equipment).

Pitching TUB In 2007 (4:05) – Back in 2007, Miller participated in an online contest which had participants make clever video pitches to win a few thousand dollars to make their film. The first video consists of a stationary picture with a jokey voiceover, while the second is a concept trailer featuring Miller as Paul.

Bobby + Eric’s First Short Film (3:12) – In the same vein as Tub, the short follows a group of four friends, who become suspicious when one of their ex-girlfriend’s shows up with a turkey, stuffed with malice and strife. Disaster ensues.

Behind The Scenes Photos With Audio Interview (6:19) – An audio interview with Miller playing over behind-the-scenes photos. A lot of the snapshots cover the same ground as the On Set Video Diary, but the interview addresses some new topics that haven’t previously popped up on the disc and is, in my opinion, the better of the interviews included.

TUB 2: Fan Film With Intro (3:27) – Although 14-year-old Joseph Shelleh has not seen Tub, it didn’t stop him from entering and winning an online contest in which he had to give his take on what Tub 2 would entail. It’s certainly disturbing and morose, considering his age, but he manages to nail the sense of humor in his tail of bathroom fixture adultery.

Sundance Trailer (0:19) – Pretty self-explanatory.

Film: 4/5

DVD: 4/5