Screen Reviews

Robot Frank

http://www.robotfrank.com

There is nary an explanation for Robot Frank, or more appropriately, why there is a guy out there that puts spray-painted cardboard boxes on his body and head and says he’s a robot. But, alas, the glories of the Internet never cease to promote the completely inane, and thus is born robotfrank.com, an autobiographical site of Robot Frank, a silvery, bulky robot with normal arms and legs who settled in small town, America. There are pictures of Robot Frank, including his trip to Taco Bell and raking the leaves, pictures of his friends Robot Ron (a red robot) and Bruce (a leather-jacket, guitar-slinging dude, the only human Frank likes), and a precious diary of Frank’s mundane adventures that is so witty that an upcoming comic book is being based on it.

The gag is never once let up, and Robot Frank’s cynical and straightforwardly absurd descriptions of day-to-day life as a robot are often ridiculous, and always hysterical. Sure, Robot Frank is nothing more than a clever contribution to the increasing mound of gratuitously meaningless Web pages, but there’s something to be said for a clever guy who dresses in what looks like a third grade Halloween costume and reports his life with a straight face. Not to mention, there’s the photo story of the costumed sea creatures versus the costumed robots. Robotfrank.com is, dare it be said, brilliant.


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