From the producer of the outrageous AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, BUBBLE BOY is the hilarious, laugh-out-loud comedy about a sheltered young man (Jake Gyllenhaal -- OCTOBER SKY) who breaks all the rules on a wild ... more »adventure to get the girl of his dreams! Though he's lived his entire life within the confines of a protective plastic bubble and under the ever-watchful eye of his overprotective mother (Swoosie Kurtz -- GET OVER IT), Jimmy Livingston (Gyllenhaal) never thought that he'd missed out on anything, until the girl next door (Marley Shelton -- VALENTINE, SUGAR & SPICE) ran off to get married in Niagara Falls. With the wedding only days away, Jimmy has no choice but to build a mobile "bubble suit" and set off across the country to stop the wedding and confess his love to her!« less
Took a bit to get going but once it went, lots and lots of crazy fun with Jake Gyllenhaal and Danny Trejo shining in this. The ending brings all the madness together.
Movie Reviews
Fabio and a Bubble Kid...How could this NOT be funny?
goven | Azores | 09/12/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ah man! This movie has it all: a singing, happy psycho-brady bunch cult, old people, a Hindu ice cream man, the mini-me guy being tossed around, a guy in a bubble, and Fabio. I apologize to all the people who missed this one because it slipped by through the theaters and to video without anyone noticing because everyone's so PC-friendly, but the truth is, this movie was made by Disney. I don't want to get too deep about the movie because if you want substance, this certainly is not the one for you, but it's also not as shallow as it seems...there is substance in it, amazingly, thanks to the acting chops of the Bubble actor; he did a good job humanizing the wierdo. It's cleverly written, cleverly acted, and man, did I mention Fabio is in it? I bet even Disney was surprised it was funny and then I bet Disney was even more surprised it did lousy. Don't let the concept scare you, it's on the floor funny in the tradition of Rat Race (not that Rat Race was so great, mind you), Road Trip, and Zoolander. It the perfect friday night movie...I recommend, I recommend! Oh, one last thing, there's a girlie mud wrestling thing with the bubble boy...curious? yes, the irrevent humor of it all! Go rent, then buy. (moment of seriousness: it really is a very funny movie, i think even Ebert liked it...didn't he?)"
Suprisingly intelligent yet Goofilicious!
Cambel | Washington, DC USA | 10/22/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Too many times are funny movies, comedians, ect... sacrificed to the alther of Political Correctness. I think this movie is one case. The main character in this movie, played extreamely well by Jake Gyllenhaal is a victim of an auto immune disease that makes him unable to live outside his artificial plastic room his parents of built for him. Sounds depressing? Well it isn't, his mother, a neurotically clean, religeous, uptight lady played by Swoozy Curtz and his father are the perfect foil to the main characters naive charm and goofy attitude. When he first meets the sexy neighbor girl that he has been staring at for years he thinks that the proper way to greet her is as "The Whore next door" since thats all he's ever heard her called.
They slowly become friends and there are several great scenes as when he dresses up as a gold fish swimming in a bowl for Halloween. You also start to get the idea that she is attracted to him. However, she eventually starts dating a motorcycle riding tough guy who has no redeeming qualities and goes off to Niagra falls to get married. this is where the road film takes off. The main character gets into his bubble suit to try to prevent the wedding, I won't go into ever great joke, situation, or character actor, although I could spend several minutes on the hilarious scene when he is picked up by a cult. He eventually makes it to niagra falls but the journey was the great part of this film
Suffice it to say that if you liked something about Mary, The Big Lebowski, and Rat Race, you will love this film.If you didn't like those movies, then by all means, agree with the PC police, make a comment such as "How can they make a film about this, that is terrible" and do not see this film."
Bubblicious!!
acetiger_21 | California, USA | 01/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The funniest movie of the year! Bubble Boy stars Jake Gyllenhaal (October Sky, Donnie Darko) and Marley Shelton (Valentine, Sugra and Spice) in a story about a young man, Jimmy Livingston who was born without any immunities forcing him to live in a bubble like surrounding. He feels he has everything when suddenly he falls in love with the girl next door named Chloe. Chloe and Jimmy become fast friends, when suddenly Chloe's boyfriend proposes, leaving Jimmy alone. Jimmy decides that he has to stop the wedding and confess his love to Chloe, so he builds a portable Bubble suit, and sets of to Niagra Falls. He meets rockstars, freaks, a cult, and much more on his way to Chloe.This movie does not make fun of people with the disease at all, Jimmy is a hero. This movie is hillarious and will keep you laughing the whole time. The DVD is great except it should have more stuff on the adorable Jake Gyllenhaal, so buy it today! It's worth it! ;)
..."
Totally surprised by this film
Serrell Ross | 03/19/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I must say that I was shocked at just how funny this movie was. I put off seeing it for a while because I figured it would be a let down. I cannot believe how wrong I was. This movie was hysterical from beginning to end. The entire concept of the movie was great and it was played out perfectly by the case of characters involved. Somewhere along the line I did begin to realize that the movie would have to end with him not having to live in the bubble anymore, but even if you know that much there is still nothing spoiled. The biker gang, the cult and the phreaks were all funny and very much likeable. I cannot think of any part of this movie that should have been done differently. The cow scene was funny, the cult running over motorcycles was great and the scene in the plane and car with the kid talking to the old guys about the woman was hysterical. Do not overlook this movie. It was a feel good, life is great type movie that just makes you feel like everything is going to be ok afterall. Check it out, it's a definate must have addition to anyones DVD collection. One last thing, it has a scene with an all chick band named Betty Blowtorch, the lead singer/bass player (Biannca Halstead, pretty sure that is her last name) was killed in a car accident in December of 2001. So it was cool to see her in the quick cameo."
What a great movie, I absolutely loved it!
JetTone12 | USA | 05/30/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I remember when the previews for Bubble Boy came out around late summer of 2001. I recall thinking, "Well, this movie looks a bit dumb, but it definitely looks like a guilty pleasure." I'm sure you will all agree that some movies can be very dumb yet extremely enjoyable to watch. About four years ago, I never got around to watching Bubble Boy. Then, just yesterday, the film appeared on Comedy Central. I was excited to see it, expecting a fun film with an admittedly stupid plot (think Not Another Teen Movie, which I saw on Comedy Central last weekend).
It turns out that Bubble Boy is actually NOT the stupid yet fun movie that the previews lead it on to be. There is a real point to the film; a boy named Jimmy who is born without immunities is entrapped in a bubble and completely smothered and sheltered by his parochial pseudo-Christian mother. She does not ever let him leave the bubble in his room, and while it is commodious enough for him to play guitar, sing and dance, it is a disgustingly limited way to live. However, there is light in his life. The attractive yet compassionate girl next door, Chloe, takes an interest in him. Unfortunately, there are a couple great opportunities for Jimmy to kiss her and he blows it by not letting her in his bubble out of fear. As a result, she starts going out with the wrong guy, a mullet-wearing, egotistical jerk who doesn't know the right time to put his hands on his woman. After a short while, the conceited clod asks Chloe to marry him in Niagra Falls, and after disappointment with Jimmy's attitude, Chloe decides to go through with it. This is when Jimmy realizes what he has lost, and decides that he has to go to Niagra Falls and stop the wedding in order to tell Chloe how he really feels and rescue her from her soon-to-be husband.
On his journey, he encounters an ignorant toll-booth operator, a bus full of cultmembers ("Always happy, never gay!"), a Latin gangster with a motorcycle (and eventually his crew), an East Indian who drives a van, a bunch of circus freaks (controlled by the character who played Mini-Me in Austin Powers), a one-hundred year-old taxi-cab driver who looks as if he is about to die at any second and more. First off, I want to address those who were politically correct and complained of any stereotypes that they felt were fueled in this movie. Political correctness killed the cat! Quit being prude and enjoy the movie! First of all, I am a Latin guy and I loved Slim and his crew. I found it hilarious when Jimmy started saying "vato" like Slim even though he didn't really know what it meant. Slim, like Jimmy, also has a woman that he let get away with a "buttoned-down, 'I'm Gonna Get A Job' kinda vato'." He refers to this hot, sexy woman as "Wildfire." Well, without giving anything away, let me just say that when I found out who Wildfire was, I was laughing my a$$ off. The old man who drives the taxi also has regret about losing a woman, a beautiful "China doll" as he puts it. These characters are also caring enough to encourage Jimmy to go for Chloe and not make the same mistake that they did. Every character that Jimmy meets on his trip (aside from the cult and Mini-Me's character) is not simply a stereotype; they are allowed to be real people with feelings and express themselves like everyone else. Are groups made fun of? Yes, but it's equally distributed. While you might have the stereotypical East Indian, you also have the overly-"Christian" white mother who has a somewhat unsurprisingly wild romantic history.
I found this movie hilarious, inspirational, fun and touching. You can't always judge a book by its cover, and you also can't always judge a movie by its preview. I also found out that the star of Bubble Boy also starred in Donny Darko (a connection I had never made). Both are great movies. Go and watch both of them if you haven't already!"