Stars bubble and a rower gets obsessive
★★✩✩✩
KAREN GILLAN (Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy), Leslie Mann (This is 40) and David Duchovny (The X Files) head a stellar cast in this disappointing pandemic themed meta comedy from writer-director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The King of Staten Island) for Netflix. Pedro Pascal, Keegan-Michael Key, Guz Khan and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm sensation Maria Bakalova also star.
Written by Apatow and screenwriter Pam Brady, The Bubble was inspired by the production of the yet to be released Jurassic World Dominion (2022) which was filmed during the pandemic with its actors living together during the shoot. Earlier this year, Netflix released a teaser for Cliff Beasts 6, with the streaming giants later revealing that this was to be the film within the film in The Bubble.
As production gets underway for the latest instalment of the hugely popular Cliff Beasts franchise, leading cast members Carol Cobb (Gillan) and ex-couple Lauren Van Chance and Dustin Mulray (Mann and Duchovny) find themselves holed up in the luxurious Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire. #
Lured in by what the producers promise to be a shoot with a difference, the actors are stuck together inside a Covid safe bubble and are forbidden from leaving until the shoot is completed.
Mostly known for his relatable, and generally well received comedies, Apatow here presents an overlong and excruciatingly unfunny film.
As with most pandemic themed productions we’ve seen so far, The Bubble already feels terribly dated and completely out of touch.
Although the premise of what would happen if a group of selfabsorbed,
JEWISH AMERICAN actor Isabelle Fuhrman (best known for her starring role in the 2009 psychological horror Orphan) shines in this impressive debut feature from director Lauren Hadaway. In it, Fuhrman plays an obsessive freshman who joins her university’s rowing team and pushes herself to the limit to gain acceptance from her trainer mollycoddled celebrities and team mates. were forced under one roof Alex (Fuhrman) doesn’t make could have easily yielded some things easy for herself. On top of decent material, Apatow et al sadly deciding to major in physics, her fail to raise any laughs throughout. weakest subject, the determined The result is one giant mess held young woman has also set her eyes together by a ludicrously outlandish on a place in the college rowing premise and some rather dubious team. Alex soon becomes obsessed performances. with perfecting her technique day
Fans of Apatow’s brilliantly self and night, but her behaviour goes aware sophomoric humour comedies up a notch when she is invited by will find very little to enjoy Pete (Jonathan Cherry), her very here. Moving from his tried and attentive and encouraging coach, tested formula of stories about to join the varsity rowing team as a puerile, schlubby men and the novice. women who tolerate them, he Hadaway delivers an engaging resorts to unsophisticated slapstick and impressive queer psychological humour and beyond the pale toilet gags.
Overall, this messy, muddled and genuinely baffling offering is by no means a vintage Apatow, but everyone is allowed a misfire once in a while.
One only hopes that his next film will once again bring back the relatable characters we’ve all grown to love. thriller which delves deep into the destructive nature of obsessive compulsive behaviour. As Alex enters a competitive world which soon proves to be detrimental to her physical and mental health, we are reminded of Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash a film in which the main protagonist becomes consumed by the idea of perfecting his craft to the point of madness.
As Alex navigates her new relationship with teacher’s assistant Dani (Dilone), Hadaway is careful to capture their sensual encounters with expertly well executed and never voyeuristic close-ups. For her part, Fuhrman vacillates between aggressively confident and disarmingly restrained as she gives her best performance to date.
Featuring a gorgeous soundtrack made up of deeply moving songs from the likes of Brenda Lee and Connie Francis, The Novice feels both fresh and expertly devised. Hadaway has given us an impressive debut in which she mixes mainstream psychological thriller tropes with her own brand of psychodramatic flair to deliver one the best debuts of the year so far.