Midlands Review of Rubber Johnny
midlandsmovies • March 25, 2020
Midlands Review of Rubber Johnny
Rubber Johnny
Directed by Matt Williams
2020
Rubber Johnny is a new music-based video from West Midlands animator and film director Matt Williams which tackles a rather serious subject in the most amusing way possible.
Rubber Johnny – a British slang for a condom if you were unaware – is an important thing to learn about in school sex education class and Williams has taken this sensitive and difficult to talk about issue and made a very entertaining short about it.
The film is an animated music video with lyrics related to its use, its history and with an emphasis on bright colours and smiley faces that makes it accessible to a youth audience.
That’s not to say it’s only educational, however. With fantastic vocals from singer Caitlin Johnson and a simple accompanying acoustic guitar, the song is as catchy as hell and has plenty of laugh out loud moments as well.
With the history of animated music videos in mind, from Yellow Submarine by The Beatles to the anime stylings of Daft Punk’s Discovery album, the film has echoes of White Stripes’ Fell in Love with a Girl where a locked off shot was used to show the band playing using child favourite LEGO.
More apt perhaps is Peter Gabriel’s famous Sledgehammer video as Williams has chosen an older ratio (1:1) for his video with the very colourful animation all happening in this one square window.
From inflatable cocks to anthropomorphic smiley-faced condoms, via some real-life footage of trouser zips and plasticine sperm, the sexual connotations are there but always amusing and more importantly never crude or used exploitatively.
In the end, its simplicity is its key factor. A winner for Best Music at the 2020 Midlands Movies Awards, the video displays the lyrics enabling you to sing along to its uber-catchy chorus. “Oh, rubber johnny” will be stuck in your head all day and young people will get entertaining info on where to stick the other thing as well. A superb silly willy of a film.
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