Judd Apatow wanders away from his strengths with 'The Bubble'
Netflix
Many people have used the pandemic to try something new, whether it’s a language or an instrument or a trendy bread. (Where are all the homemade pretzel loaves?) For director/co-writer Judd Apatow, long synonymous with emotionally driven hit comedies, his COVID project seems to have been attempting a movie without any emotional investment and not many laughs and calling it a well-intentioned effort toward distraction during a difficult time. Except “The Bubble” causes more discomfort, not less.
It seems like someone as entrenched in the industry as Apatow could deliver a sharp satire of hollow entertainment presented as escapism — especially as “The Bubble” chronicles a reunited cast (including Karen Gillan, Leslie Mann and David Duchovny) filming “Cliff Beasts 6,” whose production was already severely flawed long before the interruptions of nasal tests and quarantines. But this is one of many places where Apatow seems to have not really considered the joke, as “Cliff Beasts 6” might seem lousy and unnecessary, but the special effects are good and the movie doesn’t contain any troubling statements. (Something that can’t be said about, for example, Netflix’s “Home Team.”) Sending up a sequel that a studio makes just for the money is far from a shrewd observation.
Likewise, the one-note nature of these characters (including Apatow’s daughter, Iris, as a TikTok star and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” breakout Maria Bakalova as a hotel clerk) grows tiresome almost immediately. That doesn’t mean there aren’t laughs here and there, assuming you’re still actually watching and didn’t just forget to turn off Netflix when you finished working out. But pause “The Bubble” at your own peril; the motivation it will take to restart and reach the end may be more than anyone has left right now.
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