Bubble Boy (2001)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Blair Hayes

Writers (WGA):

Cinco Paul (written by) &
Ken Daurio (written by)

Release Date:

24 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A journey of 2,755.8 miles begins with a single bounce.

Plot:

"Bubble Boy" is a comedy about a young man who was born without an immune system and has lived his life within a plastic bubble in his bedroom...

Plot Keywords:

Niagara Falls | Plastic Bubble | Wedding | Bus | Midget

Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Jimmy Livingston
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Mrs. Livingston
Marley Shelton	...	Chloe
Danny Trejo	...	Slim
John Carroll Lynch	...	Mr. Livingston
Verne Troyer	...	Dr. Phreak
Dave Sheridan	...	Mark
Brian George	...	Pushpop
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Pappy / Pippy
Stephen Spinella	...	Chicken Man
Ever Carradine	...	Lisa, Mark's Sister
Geoffrey Arend	...	Flipper Boy
Beetlejuice	...	Li'l Zip
Matthew McGrory	...	Human Sasquatch
Bonnie Morgan	...	Rubber Woman

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and crude sexual humor.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:14 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38340)

Filming Locations:

La Verne, California, USA

Company:

Bandeira Entertainment

Trivia:

Slim's ill-fated chopper is based around a Triumph motorcycle

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Bubble Boy is making his escape from home, he rolls down the stairs and bounces into the living room. In this shot you can clearly see another layer of the clear bubble material encasing/suspending him for protection during the stunt. In the very next shot, this layer is gone and the bubble moves freely around him.

Quotes:

Dr. Phreak: Oh, that's so beautiful. I too was in love once... for 10 minutes! Then I kicked her ass out of the car!

Movie Connections:

References The Elephant Man (1980)

Soundtrack:

Havin' a Bad Day

The wait for a decent summer movie is over!!!!!

A few months ago I had the opportunity to see Bubble Boy at one of those free screenings where they ask you to rate and analyze it (@ Thousand Oaks Janns Marketplace, CA). It was a rough cut at the time but it was enough to convince me now, that it could be one of the best movies of the summer. Let me explain. You see, at the beggining of the season I was hyped for the big stuff (AI, Jurrasic 3, Apes, Pearl Harbor,American Pie 2), so when I saw this little known movie called Bubble Boy, I really liked it and moved on, looking now for the real big name/budget films. A few months pass...

I've seen all the supposed good films (Except AP2) and my final conclusion is that Bubble Boy is better than all of them. It doesn't try to make a huge statement, it doesn't try to razzle/dazzle the audience, and it doesn't try to gross us out even more than recent and current comedies. It simply focuses on some very likeable characters who offer more than just name recognition and crude jokes. The characters all have heart, they all are positive role models, and they have great chemistry together. Is it possible that Hollywood has actually put out a decent story with decent values and developed characters??? YES they have, and Bubble Boy is it!

OK, so the plot is very basic. Boy is born w/o immunities, lives in bubble, falls in love with neighbor girl, journeys across the country to stop her marriage and declare his love for her. The story works and sets a perfect framework to learn with him about the real world as he influences the lives of some very diverse people. The ending is simply great. I was a litle worried how this was going to wrap up, but it did just fine.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the Bubble Boy and plays him well. He's innocent, thoughtful, and humorously naive with the ways of the world. The girl he falls in love with is Marley Shelton, who is very different from the typical Hollywood bimbo. She can actually act, and she portrays the love of Jimmy's (the Bubble Boy) with more than just good looks.

I'm not going to undermine how hot she is, because she is, but there is so much more to her character. The mom played by (Swoosie Kurtz) also does a great job being the fanatical, protective mother. There are other great supporting characters that all add something to the Bubble Boy's journey. Two of my favorite characters were Pippy and Pappy, brothers who haven't spoken to each in over 86 years. They just add more subtle humor to all the physical comedy that is plentiful. That's what is truly great about this movie. It has the slapstick, the subtle witty humor, developed characters, and a touching finale. This is one well-rounded Bubble, and it deserves to be hit.