Bubble Boy (2001)
Review by Agent Vitriol
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Blair Hayes
Written by Ken Daurio & Cinco Paul
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Swoozie Kurtz, Marley Shelton, Danny Trejo, John Carroll Lynch

Features:

• Director’s Diary
  
• "Building A Better Bubble Suit"
  
• Production Design Gallery
  
• Storyboards
  
• "Bright and Shiny Sing Along"
  
• Running audio commentary with Director Hayes and Gyllenhaal
  

Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Run from it.

I avoided this movie in theaters (yes, even the free screenings), so this was my first viewing. I truly feel that I’m somehow dumber for the experience. It’s not so much that it’s a bad movie; it’s that it’s a retarded kind of bad movie. Fine, you have a movie about a boy in a bubble, you make him go out in the world in a funny looking bubble suit, and he gets into all kinds of mischief because his mother has given him a warped sense of reality. I suppose it could have been funny--but that’s only if you would have responded well to Gyllenhaal’s incredibly annoying character voice, or the superfluous amount of human freaks in the film, or if you’re one of those really dedicated Marley Shelton fans that camped out overnight to see the first showing of Valentine! Folks, there’s a reason that this movie made a whopping $5 million at the box office. I can only wonder how this movie ever got made.

Probably the only enjoyable part of this movie for me was the appearance of criminal turned actor, Danny Trejo, as the biker who helps bubble boy Jimmy on his journey. You may remember him as the knife wielding assassin in Desperado or the serial rapist Johnny 23 from Con Air. There’s nothing funnier in this movie than a guy like Trejo bonding with Gyllenhaal’s bubble boy. Beyond that, this movie didn’t deserve half of its miserable gross.

The DVD itself isn’t much better than the movie. I mean, who cares if the movie looks or sounds good if the movie sucks? Well, there’s always the hope that the supplements will add to the experience of watching the film. Unfortunately, it only makes you wonder--again!--how this movie was ever made. There aren’t many supplements to begin with, and of those available, none seem to vibe with the film. Director Blair Hayes takes this film way too seriously in his commentary, while Gyllenhaal seems to want to pretend he really didn’t do the movie. Even worse are the poor guys who spent time making the bubble suit in the movie--you just can’t take anything about this movie seriously, but at least they got paid up front.

Now on your next trip to Blockbuster, you may see this movie on the shelf and think it can’t be THAT bad for a three dollar rental. What you SHOULD do is pretend you never saw the DVD on the shelf, and continue your search. There’s 90% chance that another random selection from the new release wall will yield a better result. Note to Widge: After enduring this film’s entire running time for the sake of Needcoffee.com, I fully expect substantial financial compensation to be delivered immediately.