Rub & Tug
Rub & Tug
| 10 September 2002 (USA)
Rub & Tug Trailers

The new manager of a full-body massage parlor must make sure his employees do not grant sexual favors to clients.

Reviews
Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible
Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
charlytully RUB & TUG writer\director Soo Lyu was not against nudity in her flick per se--witness Susanne Sutchy's boobishness in her bit part as the "new girl" April. However, though the three leads are constantly talking about taking off their tops, whenever they actually do the viewer is left with a bareback tease; that's it. In Soo Lyu's showing-it-like-it-is spirit, here's some suggestions for other projects dying to be made: 1)ALMOST SAVING PRIVATE RYAN--A crack rescue team storms Normandy Beach on D-Day to save the lone surviving son from a quartet of brothers. But when they notice there's no blood anywhere, they decide to throw back a few brews with Papa Hemingway in Paris instead. 2)THE BAAING OF THE LAMBS--A farm girl joins the FBI after watching every episode of X-FILES seven times. But the crime rate has fallen so low under the new administration that the highlight of her first five years is a case of sheep rustling. She quits the bureau to research gene modification, in a quest to equip ewes with better self-defense mechanisms. 3)BREATH OF A SALESMAN--The economy is in the pits, millions are out of a job, and even working girls cannot afford pricey lingerie. Brassiere salesman Hoot Erst hasn't made his sales goal in five years, and suddenly realizes his family's last asset is his life insurance policy. But while he's in the hardware store buying a hose to run his exhaust into his car, scrappers steal his catalytic converter. He ends up back at square one. If these projects strike you as safe but boring, you're ready to enroll in the Soo Lyu School of Film-making.
Sheila101 This was an original story line about a Rub & Tug (massage parlor), directed by Soo Lyu who is very new to movie making and has proven that she has got what it takes to put an entertaining movie together.Clients get more than a massage at this establishment, but the girls refuse to do full service (sexual intercourse). A hand job is about as far as they will go with the customers. The story focuses on three girls and their boss. There is an interesting friction between the gals and their boss which is always amusing. The film doesn't actually show any sexual scenes. The most sexual scene is a dream sequence involving a melting ice-cream cone which won the audience over.The story was inspired by and based on true stories of many gals working in Rub & Tugs. There is a great twist at the end which I won't tell you about as I hope you'll see this film and I don't want to ruin it for you. I can see this becoming a great cult classic along the lines of Mall Rats and Dogma.
bbbl67 Seems to be a very true-to-life portrayal of life in a body rub parlor. The movie tries not to be judgemental about the work these women do, but does present it from their point of view. A lot of daily challenges, of going far enough without going too far, keeping it legal, etc.Don McKellar was brilliant as the nerdy manager of the parlor, who seemed to be in way over his head with this job. He gradually got very good at this job in a big way.There's a very twisted humorous ending that came out of nowhere. Extremely imaginative. It sort of kept true to the nature of these people, where nothing is as it seems on the surface.
mrchaos33 Rub & Tug is promoting itself as a real account of life in the seedy body rub parlors of Toronto. Director and co-screenwriter Soo Lyu spent a year researching the project, but there is none of the grit you would expect from a movie that explores the underbelly of the sex trade. Instead Rub & Tug is a starkly clean, sanitized look at three women who work in that hazy area between masseuse and prostitute - a sexual sitcom. There have been steamier episodes of Three's Company. Don McKellar as the conniving parlor manager acquits himself with his usual bumbling charm, although isn't given enough to do. The same goes for parlor employees Lindy Booth, Tara Spencer-Nairn and Kira Clavell, who fumble through the predictable material. Lyu imbues the script with the concept that sex workers aren't victims, and we shouldn't pity them. The trouble is we don't really care about these characters, so the whole thing falls flat.