Bubble Boy
| Bubble Boy | |
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 |
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| Directed by | Blair Hayes |
| Produced by | Beau Flynn Eric McLeod |
| Written by | Cinco Paul Ken Daurio |
| Starring | Jake Gyllenhaal Swoosie Kurtz Marley Shelton Danny Trejo John Carroll Lynch Verne Troyer |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 24, 2001 (USA) |
| Running time | 84 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13,000,000 (estimated) |
Bubble Boy is a 2001 comedy film directed by Blair Hayes and stars Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role.
Contents |
Cast
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Jimmy Livingston
- Swoosie Kurtz as Mrs. Livingston
- Marley Shelton as Chloe
- Danny Trejo as Slim
- John Carroll Lynch as Mr. Livingston
- Verne Troyer as Dr. Phreak
- Dave Sheridan as Mark
- Brian George as Pushpop
- Patrick Cranshaw as Pappy/Pippy
- Stephen Spinella as Chicken Man
- Ever Carradine as Lisa
- Geoffrey Arend as Flipper Boy
- Beetlejuice as Lil' Zip
- Matthew McGrory as Human Sasquatch
- Bonnie Morgan as Rubber Woman
- Stacy Keibler as Working Girl
- Midajah McCullum O'Hearn as Red Hot
- Fabio as Gil
- Anthony Porter as SR l
Plot
Jimmy Livingston is a boy born without an immune system. Because of this, he is forced to live in a bubble dome in his bedroom in Palmdale, California. For this reason, his neighbors nickname him Bubble Boy. Jimmy's mother, a devout Catholic, forbids him to leave the bubble dome because of his condition. She only exposes him to Highlights magazine and the Land of the Lost television show for entertainment. When he is a teenager, a girl named Chloe moves in next door. Jimmy is immediately taken with her, even though his mother warns him that Chloe doesn't seem like the kind of girl Jesus would befriend. Despite his mother's warning, Jimmy and Chloe become good friends. They develop a close relationship. At one point, Chloe tries to come into his bubble, but Jimmy is afraid of contamination and doesn't let her in.
One day, Chloe visits Jimmy and tells him that she is leaving for Niagara Falls to marry her long-time boyfriend, Mark. She announces that the wedding will take place in three day's time. She then asks Jimmy if he thinks that Mark is "the one," but Jimmy refuses to answer her. When Chloe tries to give him a gift, Jimmy refuses to accept it. Chloe is upset and decides to take off, leaving the present with Jimmy. Later, Jimmy opens the present. It's a homemade snow globe that contains miniature models of Jimmy and Chloe sitting on the phrase 'I Love You.' Jimmy realizes that Chloe cares for him deeply. Overcome with guilt for having driven Chloe away, Jimmy builds a mobile bubble suit and sneaks off into the night, determined to stop the wedding.
Throughout his journey to Niagara Falls, Jimmy runs into a wide variety of people, including the Bright and Shiny cult, the Dr. Phreak traveling sideshow circus, Slim the biker and his gang of motorcyclists, Pippy, Pappy, Poonany, Pushpop the Indian ice cream man, and his parents. These people cause many problems for Jimmy throughout his journey but, through a comical chain of events, they help Jimmy arrive at Niagra Falls on time. Jimmy stops the wedding and takes off his bubble suit, allowing him to touch the girl he loves. He collapses and presumably dies. Jimmy's father then forces Jimmy's mother to confess that Jimmy had developed a fully functional immune system when he was four years old, and Jimmy realizes that he is not dead at all. It is revealed that Mrs. Livingston had hidden this fact from Jimmy to protect him from the world. Jimmy forgives her and leaves the church with Chloe. Later, Jimmy and Chloe are married with all of their new friends in attendance. Then, Pippy, Pappy and Poonanny drive the happy couple to their honeymoon.
Criticism
The film was criticized upon its release[1], partly because it makes light of a real-world condition, and partly because of the way religions are depicted. Some examples of the latter are: the bubble boy's mother, an extreme Christian who even has a cross shaped cookie cutter; the Hindu ice cream man who attempts an atonement while a cow's carcass is repeatedly run over in front of his eyes; and the Bright and Shiny cult, which seems to parody the Heaven's Gate cult, as it involves castration and being taken away by aliens.
Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2008) |
- Bubble Boy features two different members of the Howard Stern Wack Pack in supporting roles. Beetlejuice plays the character Lil' Zip. The late Matthew McGrory, who was known as "Bigfoot" on the Stern show, plays a similarly named character, Human Sasquatch, in the movie.
- This feature was filmed using Panavision cameras, the type of motion picture film format that was used was Super 35 mm film.[1]
- In the scene where Jimmy discovers the gift snowglobe that Chloe gives him and cries, downstairs his mother says "That nasty little slut left in just the nick of time!" The TV is on and you can see the "Bright and Shiny" cult dancing and singing across the stage.
- Susan Hawk of Survivor: Borneo and Survivor: All-Stars played Perris Waitress on this film.
References
External links
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