Film Review – The Bubble (2022)
The pandemic has changed the world in countless, nay endless ways, and its impact is still being felt right now (yes, despite government rules being obliterated, the virus is still hanging around – wear a mask, etc) nowhere more so than in the cinema industry. This time two years ago, productions were being shut down along with the rest of the world, as did cinemas and no-one really knew when the lights would come back on. Thankfully they did, but new obstacles were being faced and things had to be done differently, namely having cast and crew form their own bubble. They could continue to work but would have to quarantine, be away from family and friends and maybe go insane. So, come on down Judd Apatow – it’s rife for some tomfoolery.
Said tomfoolery takes place in a tranquil English country mansion befitting of the cast and crew of Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle for Everest, the latest installment in the hugely successful franchise that has taken the world by storm. Carol Cobb (Karen Gillan) is returning to the franchise after skipping the last film to go “prestige” for a hopefully misjudged Jerusalem Rising but has her doubts about bubbling with her returning castmates (including Pedro Pascal, Keegan Michael-Key, Leslie Mann, and David Duchovny) for three months. But, desperate to work after everything else is shut down, she reluctantly agrees but it isn’t just the beasts that will soon be craving the spotlight.
Apatow, who had to navigate the eccentricities of releasing a film during the first lockdown with The King of Staten Island – namely having the film released digitally and brushing up on the world of Zoom – hasn’t always lived up to the huge promise of his earlier films but has always managed to find humour in the real world and dramatics in the “funnies” of life and The Bubble follows suit even though it, sadly, isn’t on the same level as his most successful ventures. You can see the appeal of such an idea in commentating on Hollywood during the pandemic: actors going insane in quarantine, despite most of the real world doing similar; studio heads desperately seeking stock (mainly franchises and “IP”), no matter the cost; the emergence of TikTok and the new wave of “stars” that Hollywood is obsessed with and much more in between. It’s ripe for satire and poking fun and, aside from perhaps Adam McKay, there aren’t many people better suited to the task than Apatow but, despite some insightful and droll ripostes, it never quite coalesces.
It seems strange to say such things when the pandemic is still around and things are still having to be controlled and monitored in this mad way but despite its energy and bravura, The Bubble bursts very quickly, and like the franchise mechanics that it satirises, should have been “laid to rest” a long time ago. That isn’t to say there isn’t anything here to recommend: Gillan continues her ascent into the stratosphere with another smashing outing of impeccable comedic timing, supported by fun turns from Iris Apatow as a precocious TikTokker with a love of dance videos, Pedro Pascal as a Woody-Harrelson-esque star, and never-less-than-brilliant Fred Armisen as the film’s timid yet hilarious director. The whole cast is uniformly agreeable throughout (as you would expect from such an ensemble) but even they seem to be lost in it all as it hurtles towards a second half that is sadly devoid of the nous and sharpness of its opening one. Feeling more like a good idea for a poster or extended SNL sketch than a feature, especially at a somewhat exhaustive 126 minutes, a ghost that has followed the filmmakers’ work since Knocked Up and one that, ultimately, bursts this promising bubble.
★★
Comedy | 2022 | Netflix | 15 | Dir: Judd Apatow | Karen Gillan, Keegan Michael-Key, Pedro Pascal, Leslie Mann, Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Maria Bakalova, Kate McKinnon
About the Author
