The Bubble

Watched this film at Paris theater in NYC aka the Netflix Theater. Without spoiling much, I will just that this film is not very funny. Contrary, it's long, it's got too many characters, the storyline is very vague and confusing, and the jokes are not there. Judd Apatow was bragging about finishing the script in 8 weeks, and honestly it really felt so.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good joke. I just don't love the same joke being repeated over and over for two hours. There's plenty to mock over the past couple of years and I applaud this movie for having a go but it would've been much better if someone who actually understood comedy had written this, like Ricky Gervais or the Monty python crowd. But no. In typical Netflix fashion we get a corporate confection of mediocrity.

This film was not what I had hoped for. It had big stars, an acclaimed comedy director and a promising premise but it just fell short on so many levels.

The premise is about a bunch of actors and a film crew trying to make a movie during the pandemic and it starts off quite strong. I chuckled here and there, the writing was tighter and it had relatability when it came to the pandemic stuff. That's where I have to give it points, the satire was decent here but that's the only place I can give it points.

The acting, cinematography, music was all okay, nothing unexpected and everyone does their job well here.

It was the writing and the pacing that really brings this film down. Around 75% into the first act all the way until the credits rolled, I found myself zoning in and out of the film. This film could have been a 90 minute film or even shorter. 2 hours dragged the whole thing out and it felt like a chore to finish the film just to get it done with. There was a tongue in cheek ending which kind of makes up for a little bit of this by being self aware but even still it was very lacklustre. The jokes became very flat and I found myself have 0 reaction to any of it. Even the comic relief character was decent but they were under used and taken out of the film quite early on.

Alongside this, the characters are all uninteresting and with the flat jokes and dragged out narrative, there's nothing really to keep you watching.

Overall the film starts of good then slowly delves into a long drag.

P. S. The choreographed dances were feel good..it was one of the few instances in the film that uplifted it alongside the welcome cameos.

Seeing the stars in this and the writer/director it came from, I'm honestly stunned at how bad this was. The Bubble is an extremely tedious watch that has almost no genuine comedy in it. About an hour in, I realized the film must be close to over, but nope. There was over an hour more of the same jokes and same setting left to suffer through. It tries to be self-aware, however the ultimate irony is Judd Apatow casting his wife and daughter in this film while simultaneously trying to lambast how ridiculous Hollywood is.

A mixed-bag Hollywood comedy, suffering from the usual complaint which is that all the best scenes are in the trailer. This one offers a broad satire of filmmaking in the COVID era, with a lot of lockdowns, bubbles and hygiene-following. A sprawling ensemble cast are efficient in their roles, some funnier than others, but sadly the wit tends to be bypassed in favour of dumber sex or vomit gags. I did enjoy the dancing scenes and the CGI jokes, however.