Bubble Boy

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Swoosie Kurtz, Marley Shelton, Danny Trejo, Verne Troyer, Zach Galifanakis
Directed by: Blair Hayes
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Romance
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A boy (Jake Gyllenhaal) born without immunities has to live in a giant plastic bubble to keep him alive. When the girl (Marley Shelton) of his dreams heads off to get married, he decides to leave his plastic bubble (in a more mobile bubble) and stop her from making a mistake.

Review:

Tim: Bubble Boy is a stupid movie. I just want to get that out of the way immediately. So many of these comedies are stupid, and this one certainly fits the bill. However, it is also likewise pretty funny. Luckily, this film's stupidity is not of the malicious or vulgar kind. It is stupid, but heartwarming. That is probably the film's best quality. The movie itself is at least fairly entertaining, although not spectacular. This is a flawed, oftentimes silly movie, but it is not entirely unenjoyable.

Jake Gyllenhaal is interesting in the lead role. He's not terrific, but he brings such lighthearted energy to the role that it is hard to fault him too much. He is incredibly goofy, but he is fun as well. At times he can be too over-the-top, but mostly he works in the role. I like the supporting cast as well, but I wish Marley Shelton had been a bit better. She seems a little shallow in the role, and while she definitely puts in effort, I think the movie would have worked better with a more established actress in the role.

While much of Bubble Boy is ridiculous, everything happens in a controlled chaos type of way. It is hard to believe anything that happens, but you can't really help sitting back and enjoying the ride. This comedy is certainy of the more epic variety, as the events take place across the United States. This gives the movie a fun road-trip feel to it, making this truly both a comedy and an adventure film (with the requisite romance thrown in).

Bubble Boy works when it channels its craziness and characters into humorous and entertaining scenes. However, it too often strays into the farfetched and unbelievable. While many scenes are truly funny, in many others, the humor falls flat. While this film might be more memorable than many comedies, this is truly only a halfway decent movie. I enjoyed parts of it, but was disappointed in the whole.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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