It seems that Rub & Tug writer/director Soo Lyu has a fondness for the early eighties film 9 to 5. Rub & Tug takes that film’s basic theme (women joining together to take over their workplace from their sexist boss) and sets her feisty workers in a massage parlour. Here, the “girls” automatically have the power, since without them the business would collapse.
Their comic foil Conrad (Don “There is no Canadian movie I’m not in” McKellar) is hired to make sure the girls aren’t having fun with the customers for extra money. But the girls—tough veteran Betty (Tara Spencer-Nairn), Lea (Lindy Booth), who hides her profession from her straitlaced boyfriend, and naïve Cindy (Kara Clavell)—team up and consistently befuddle Conrad.
While the movie has its flaws, it’s a worthy entry into the category of female-centred comedy. Its plot is almost solely about women, but no one dies of cancer, has a terminally ill child or delivers a monologue about her angst. These women are strong and satisfied with themselves. None of them has a crisis of ethics, and the film never begins moralizing about how “wrong” their jobs are. They’ll do or say whatever it takes to ensure their victory.
Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t have the energy of a 9 to 5 or Desperately Seeking Susan. It drags in places, and the characters have an annoying habit of making sudden insightful comments about themselves that are never further examined. They simply fall flat, making the film seem as if it’s unsure whether it’s a vivacious comedy or a drama.
