Movie Monday April 4: The Bubble

I was in the mood for a comedy this week, so I decided on The Bubble, a new movie from Netflix. I really didn’t know what to expect going in other than the fact that the cast was stacked with comedy legends from the US as well as the UK. This movie took me on a wild ride.

**Warning, mild spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched the movie yet, what are you doing?**

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sixth installment of the “Cliff Beasts” franchise is set to film in a quarantine bubble at a posh English hotel. The cast comes together, after a mandatory 14 day quarantine that breaks some people’s sanity, and initially starts off great. Carol Cobb (Karen Gillan), an actress who left the franchise to pursue other films, comes back to salvage her career after a huge and offensive flop. Lauren Van Chance (Leslie Mann) and Dustin Mulray (David Duchovny), an on-again-off-again actor couple, deal with creative control as well as their personal issues throughout filming. Filming hits many snags, including a crew member testing positive, actor Howie Frangopolous (Guz Khan) abandoning the project, and a flu outbreak. The biggest threat, however, is a potentially crazed fan posing as their now beefed up “security”. Copious drugs are taken, people hook up and break up, and TikTok proves to be a useful tool. The film might never get finished, or it might prove to be the inspiration for another film all together.

Honestly, I chose this movie on a whim. I love Judd Apatow’s movies and how weird yet real his comedies feel. The Bubble feels like a whole other thing compared to his other work, but that’s not a bad thing. At one point in the movie, someone asks whether people want to see a CGI action film like “Cliff Beasts” during a global pandemic. The Bubble feels like the answer to that question; it’s not a movie that we asked for, but it’s a movie that we needed.

The entire cast was fantastically hilarious. Keegan-Michael Key, who plays an egotistical actor (who may or may not have founded a cult), is funny as always and SNL alum Fred Armisen’s Darren Eigan, the director, plays so well with the other characters, especially Duchovny’s Dustin and Peter Serafinowicz’s studio exec Gavin. Iris Apatow, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann’s daughter, was surprisingly funny as a social media star turned actor and played more of the ‘straight-man’, which only heightened the comedy. There are also so many cameos, from John Cena to Daisy Ridley to Benedict Cumberbatch, that only added to the film.

What I didn’t know going in was that this movie was actually inspired by the filming bubble for Jurassic World Dominion, which to me only adds to the comedy. The satirical take on Hollywood, privilege, and the pandemic doesn’t feel disingenuous and the actors aren’t afraid to make fun of themselves and the industry as a whole. 

The Bubble is a strange movie that shouldn’t work, given it’s over the top satire and ‘in jokes’ and over use of montage sequences, but I think it fits so perfectly in a time where we all need a good laugh. If you like this brand of comedy, this movie will have you giggling and laughing all the way through.

One moment I loved: This isn’t so much of a moment as a character. Gunther, the health and safety officer for the shoot, is a riot. His awkward jokes and mannerism, coupled with some genuinely fantastic comedy chops, make him steal every scene he’s in. Played by newcomer Harry Trevaldwyn, Gunther was hands down my favorite character.

One moment that made me laugh: When Gavin tells Scott (Nick Kocher), the BTS film guy, to “be a fly on the wall, but also up their ass”. This line, as well as the deadpan delivery, really caught me off guard. Runner up would be the TikTok dance scene, another thing I didn’t ask for but it’s something I needed.

I’d give this movie 8.5 up-the-nose-COVID-tests out of 10.