ReviewNetflix movie review: The Bubble – unfunny Judd Apatow comedy set during pandemic lockdown is a self-congratulatory ordeal
- The Bubble tells the story of a film production crew trying to shoot a big-budget sequel during a pandemic lockdown
- Although the cast includes some talented comedians, the film is bloated, too long and often achingly unfunny
2/5 stars
While fitfully diverting thanks to its ensemble of accomplished comic actors, The Bubble is bloated, too long and often achingly unfunny, and succumbs to many of the self-congratulatory tendencies it looks to satirise.
Karen Gillan takes point as actress Carol Cobb, who reluctantly agrees to rejoin the big-budget fantasy franchise Cliff Beasts for its sixth go-around after ducking out of the previous instalment, much to the chagrin of her co-stars.
Filming in London at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Carol and the rest of the cast and crew are confined to a quarantine bubble for the shoot in a palatial hotel deep in the English countryside.
After 14 days of solitary isolation, the cast assembles to begin shooting, whereupon lingering rivalries, resentments and personal insecurities flare up and disrupt production at every turn.