The Beanie Bubble

A very interesting movie about the back story behind the craziness of the Beanie plush toy ...I remember the beanie babies ...who crazy people where getting with them...it depict rather well how crazy the last part of the 80's, the 90's. The social trend of the day, the arrival of the WWW/internet. All this with a very good rhythm.

How this young woman daughter of immigrant saw that the net could be used to measure demand, increase sale etc she was year ahead of the rest. It also depict the founder of the Ty Toy Corp. How this man-child could manipulate people while maintaining his child like creativity. This emotionally abused man was generous only to outsider, to insider he was repeating the pattern he learn from his father.

Based on some of the truth behind the crave that was the beanie babies ...fetching price on the after market that parallel the tulip bulb in the Renaissance Holland...(the first but not the last case study of crazy speculation cause by imbalance between desirability & limited supply).

The choice of going back & forth could be an issue for some. But it does finally make a circle on itself.

In 1983, Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) and his friend Robbie (Elizabeth Banks) start a plush toy business. His big idea is to under-stuffed them and make them softer. In 1993, medical student Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan) starts working as a receptionist at the company. Sheila (Sarah Snook) meets Ty as she sets up his home lighting.

This type of movies is fast becoming a genre of its own. Some call it corporate biopics. I'm calling it product-bio. First, they need a recognizable product that will generate nostalgia. Then they need some drama for the bio and they should make one up if it doesn't exist. They are good on the first part. Beanie Babies are definite 90's nostalgia-fuel. As for the drama, it exists here. The movie tries to present it in an interesting way by combining three women's stories. I do have an issue with Zach Galifianakis.

I thought he's gay at first even after dating Sheila. He needs to not put his spin on the character. At his heart, he's a slick salesman. He needs to set up his narcissism. The guy has real daddy issues with some juicy sexual aspects. Zach is playing it like an absent-minded professor. He may be the wrong guy to play this role.

The time jumping is fine, but it may be better to simplify it. After all, both Maya and Sheila come into the story at the same time. Maya is probably the most compelling story. I don't see the chemistry between Sheila and Ty. He has more chemistry with her daughters. Robbie's story is standard wronged woman. They really need to show the sexual tension a lot more and earlier. As far as this new genre goes, this entry is an average affair.

Another production clearly seeking to capitalize on nostalgia for a particular time, appealing to a large & wealthy demographic. None of this is inherently a problem or complaint.

The execution belies a tight production schedule to just get this movie out there. Acting, writing and directing are all just slightly better than 'going through the motions' or checking the box. The young sales person/ assistant/ college intern is the most egregious: like a cartoon, no sense of pacing, no sense that characters listen to each other. The acting is painfully obvious as ACTING - saying the lines, showing the assigned emotion, etc.

It's likely that some - not all - of the cast could be better, but no one asked them to be, here.

Maybe the story could be interesting enough.... It's hard to say, from watching this. Unfortunately, it seems that all the competition among streaming providers is lowering the bar for quality, and driving production more for for quantity. So, viewer costs go up because production costs for content are the same for poor quality as it is for better quality.

When thinking about this review and the movie, I kept getting drawn back to how flamboyant the characters were and then it struck me. I was watching characters apparently 'borrowed' from The Righteous Gemstones. I know it was the 80's but it was a little cartoonish.

The characters are also presented in such a way that shows most of them in a pretty poor light. Except for the Maya character who was presented in the film as the great underbelly of the company.

Has some entertaining moments and is often interesting but lacks any depth perhaps as its presented more as a comedy than a drama or bio film :)

The film starts out telling the audience that they made up a lot of the script. That should be a clue.

As a movie, it's really well done and enjoyable. The acting is excellent, the costuming is fantastic, and the script moves it along very quickly. It's occasionally hard to follow, but this doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment. Elizabeth Banks is superb as the clever, crafty Robbie.

The story is told from three women's points of view - pretty much how they were wronged and deserved the credit for the Beanie Babies craze. If you recognize the "woman scorned" POV from the beginning, it's a lot more enjoyable as just a movie. It's certainly NOT a documentary -- if you want to see a more accurate depiction, watch Beanie Mania (2021). But if you just want an enjoyable flick, this is it.