Judd Apatow’s “The Bubble” kicked off Netflix’s April movie lineup. The R-rated movie profits off the COVID-19 pandemic and serves as a terrible metaphor for when big-shot executives have too much money on their hands. The comedy/documentary is loosely based on the filming of “Jurassic World: Dominion,” one of the first big-budget films to resume filming during the pandemic.
“The Bubble” tells the story of actors who gather in England to shoot the sixth installment of the “Cliff Beasts” franchise in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cursed with endless quarantine and exposures, the cast and crew must come together to film this $50 billion movie with heightening pressure from executives.
The film has an all-star ensemble cast and begins when Carol Cobb (Karen Gillan) returns to the franchise after backing out of “Cliff Beasts 5.” Her fellow cast resent her for this. They include Lauren (Leslie Mann) and her estranged husband Dustin (David Duchovny) and Sean (Keegan-Michael Key), a bad actor who has founded a health cult. A character who I wish had more screen time was Howie (Guz Khan), whose physical comedy was very funny and was one of the things I actually liked about the movie. Iris Apatow and Pedro Pascal also star as eccentric cast members Krystal Kris and Dieter.
If this was not enough star power, Apatow recruited James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, John Cena, John Lithgow and many more to provide aimless cameos that fail at saving this movie. The worst part might be American singer Beck — projected on the side of a building — singing “Ladies Night” to lift the cast’s spirits.
The two-hour movie was riddled with half-funny jokes and incomplete plotlines which could have been cut from the entire film. I found myself cringing many times, especially when the cast came together to make elaborate TikTok dances, do drugs off bald heads and watch the many puke and pee gags. It is also filled with half-baked punchlines and green screens which look like they are supposed to look bad. I suppose that alone can be a saving grace for this movie.
“The Bubble” failed at creating an antidote for a deadly pandemic. Who would have thought? It left a sour taste in my mouth, as it did Richard Brody of The New Yorker, who writes, “The satire is scattershot and the humor often forced, but the anger feels authentic and personal.”
If the movie is a reminder of anything, it is that the film industry cares more about mediocre films and money rather than the health and safety of film crews and actors.
“The Bubble” is now streaming on Netflix.
