"Bubble" gets a bad...uh...wrap. (1 Viewer)

[Joel Mack]

...sorry, couldn't resist...
Expecting a total suckfest, a friend and I went and saw "Bubble Boy" this evening.
90 minutes later, we were both swallowing our pride and admitting that it was far, far funnier than we'd ever hoped. It's by no means perfect, but is far from being the all-out suckfest that the trailers (and most reviewers) would have you believe. I'd rank it just behind "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" for the movie I laughed hardest at this summer.
All of the actors do a great job, especially Swoosie Kurtz, Danny Trejo, and Jake Gyllenhaal as the Bubble Boy. Marley Shelton is very easy on the eyes, as well.
All the doubters out there should at least give it a shot at the matinee or twilight price.
My grade: B+
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"If we blow up, whatever's left of me is kickin' your butt."
[Edited last by Joel Mack on August 27, 2001 at 10:39 PM]

 

[Scott Weinberg]

In its opening weekend, Bubble Boy ranked #13 in overall box office revenue. It barely cracked $2 million and I believe the budget was about $13 million.
Sheesh, that's ugly.
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Scott
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[Graeme Clark]

How much did they spend on advertising? I bet they haven't covered that yet with only $2 million.
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[Jesse Skeen]

This movie is absolutely hilarious! On the DVD cover they can quote me as saying it's one of the year's biggest surprises, since the actual film reviewers seem to have hated it

 

[Peter Kline]

From Kirk Honeycutt's Hollywood Reporter review:
Seldom has a more misguided movie escaped from a major studio than Touchstone's "Bubble Boy." That a comedy about a young man born without immunities and forced to live in an isolation bubble got past the first development exec is surprising. That a comedy that makes fun of the handicapped, minorities, senior citizens and other "freaks" failed to set off any red flags at Disney is an even greater surprise.
But if we've learned anything in recent summers at the movies, it's that some young people will laugh at nearly anything. So this opening weekend, some might indeed respond not only to "Bubble Boy's" witless humor but also to the sheer novelty of a goofy guy bumbling about in a bubble suit. Even that novelty, though, might not be enough to sustain "Bubble Boy" beyond a couple of weeks. And the outlook is certainly doubtful in foreign climes.
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[Mark Pfeiffer]

Well, it's bad...uh...rap is well deserved IMO. Something to offend everyone, which I don't necessarily consider a harbinger of good comedy. There were moments during Bubble Boy where I could hardly believe what I was hearing or seeing. Very mean-spirited and not funny.
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[Joel Mack]

Something to offend everyone

I'll be interested to see/hear your thoughts on "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back", then. A funnier and IMO, a far more offensive film than "Bubble Boy"...
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"If we blow up, whatever's left of me is kickin' your butt."

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

I liked Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and probably say that it's the funniest movie of the summer (not that it had much competition). Yes, it's excessively vulgar, but I never thought the humor was mean, unlike Bubble Boy. Maybe the difference in J&SB is that they are making fun of themselves rather than Bubble Boy where they are making fun of others.
I just found Bubble Boy to be completely tasteless and offensive to a wide variety of groups. I thought many of the jokes were cheap shots.
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[Joel Mack]

Ah well, I found it to be very funny, with the bonus message of "don't let other people tell you what you can and can't do". Nearly every character in the film starts out oppressed in some way, and overcomes it by the end.
Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Can we still be friends and just pummel each other on the Fantasy Gridiron?
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"If we blow up, whatever's left of me is kickin' your butt."

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Joel,
I guess the fact that it has a "nice" message at the end doesn't make up for all of the unsavory things it says prior to that point. (I'm not surprised anyone liked it. I have told people that some will see this as "daring" and applaud it for that. I don't agree but whatever...)
And you will be geting roughed up in fantasy football despite my low draft position (I'm drafting 13 out of an 18 player money league. What gives?!)
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Read my reviews at www.dvdmon.com
Most recent reviews: Open Your Eyes, Waiting for Guffman, Maelstrom, Diary of a Chambermaid: The Criterion Collection
Most recent column: Panning P&S