Deron Generally
Deron Generally
The Bubble
Netflix
Written by Judd Apatow and Pam Brady
Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Karen Gillen, Pedro Pascal, David Duchovny, Leslie Mann, Keegan-Michael Key, Iris Apatow, Maria Bakalova, Peter Serafinowitz, Fred Armisen, Danielle Vitalis, Guz Khan and Samson Kayo
Rated R
Comedy about a group of actors and actresses stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel attempting to complete a sequel to an action franchise film about flying dinosaurs.
In the midst of the pandemic with television and movie productions on hold, writer and director Judd Apatow decides to make a parody film about a group of actors brought together to film the sixth film in the Cliff Beast franchise. Apatow brings together an eclectic cast to pull off the parody of both genre films and behind the scenes productions.
Karen Gillan leads the cast and the comedy starts off strong with Gillan playing a self-absorbed actress stuck in quarantine alone for two weeks. The montage is hilarious and leads her to meeting the rest of the cast. There are some great character moments both between the stars and the production team led by the hilarious Peter Serafinowitz. Things go downhill quickly as illness, personal issues and production delays extend the shoot and put the actors at increasing risk both physically and psychologically.
In between shots of the film, which is your basic B movie schlock ala Sharknado where a group of people climb a mountain to hunt dinosaurs, the actors have to deal with their own personal issues as well as a production that is doing everything it can to keep them there as their personal lives fall apart. Characters deal with aging in Hollywood, the rise of social media stars as well as increasing issues with being in close quarters for long periods of time.
There are some strong performances and funny moments throughout, but at over two hours, the movie is way too long for its premise. For a comedy, it drags out many of its jokes to the point of not being funny anymore. For a parody, the behind the scenes moments are fun but suffer the same problem. As fun as a premise The Bubble is, it is way too long and drags at moments where it could really say something about production, Hollywood, fame or even the pandemic itself. It’s not bad, just not as good as it could be.
The Bubble
