Bubble Boy is a 2001 adventure-comedy film directed by Blair Hayes and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, inspired by the 1976 TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a young man without an immune system who escapes his conservative parents to stop a wedding.
Synopsis[]
Jimmy Livingston is a young man who was born without an immune system and has lived in a bubble most of his life with his strictly conservative parents. He meets Chloe, the girl of his dreams, but she is destined to marry someone else. Jimmy decides to finally break free from his parents by crafting a bubble suit and escapes out into the world, encountering a variety of unusual characters and learning what it truly means to be free.
Plot[]
Jimmy Livingston narrates his life. He doesn't remember much of his own birth, but he does know that for most of his life, he has lived in a literal plastic bubble. The reason for this is because he does not have an immune system and thus a single germ can kill him. His mother, simply known as Mrs. Livingston, dotes on and coddles him, pressing him down under a conservative Christian upbringing, while his father (identified as Mort) remains mostly quiet and cornered by his wife, though he does teach Jimmy how to use tools and build things.
Jimmy is homeschooled and is only allowed to read Highlights and watch Land of the Lost. He is mocked by his neighbors, but his mother constantly scares them away. Eventually, Jimmy notices his new neighbor Chloe moving in and falls in love with her, comically depicted with him getting an erection for the first time and freaking out. Out of curiosity, Chloe invites herself to the Livingstons house and meets Jimmy, sharing his love of the show Land of the Lost and even making light of Mrs. Livingston's view of her. The two quickly become friends and start hanging out together for the next couple of years. It quickly becomes apparent that Chloe has feelings for Jimmy, but his bubble prevents him from ever truly developing anything intimate.
Chloe starts dating Mark, a crass and uncouth individual who is clearly more interested in bedding Chloe. Jimmy puts up with their relationship, though he is clearly upset. One day, Chloe tells Jimmy that she and Mark are getting married at Niagara Falls and sadly leaves behind a gift for him. It is a snow globe with a message saying "I Love You, Jimmy". Using his smarts, Jimmy proceeds to build a bubble suit for himself and finally escapes the house early in the morning. Mort apparently hears him leaving, but complacently does nothing.
Jimmy makes his way out of the neighborhood and down to a bus stop in the middle of nowhere. He interacts with the tenant, who is highly dismissive and rude, and Jimmy realizes that he has no way of going as he lacks the funds. He is suddenly hit by a bus belonging to the Bright and Shiny cult, consisting of men and women who only go by Todd and Lorraine. The group agree to take Jimmy with them to Niagara Falls while also showing him their belief system. When Jimmy calls them out for being a cult, they kick him off the bus in the middle of the desert. Mrs. Livingston and Mort discover that Jimmy is missing and shortly follow after him.
Jimmy is chased away by a vulture before encountering a biker named Slim, whose bike has broken down. Jimmy offers to help if he can get him to Niagara Falls to stop Chloe's wedding. Slim relates as he once had a lover named Wildfire who turned him down for a well dressed man. Meanwhile the Bright and Shiny cult return to their base where their leader, Gil, tells them that their messiah is "the round one" and that they must release him. Realizing they goofed up, the cult race back to get Jimmy.
Jimmy and Slim make their way to Las Vegas where the latter tells the former that he needs to embrace his freedom and newfound lease on life. Slim gets sucked into the Vegas scene and Jimmy is forced to venture off on his own after obtaining a motorized scooter. As he leaves, Slim goes looking for him and runs into the Bright and Shiny cult whom he deduces is after Jimmy. After threatening them, the cult run over his motorcycle. Jimmy accidentally crosses paths with his parents, who accidentally hit him with their car and sends him flying into a train.
The train turns out to be a freak show train owned by the diminutive Dr. Phreak. He insists that Jimmy join the other freaks on his train after insulting his journey of reuniting with Chloe. He gives him his business card, but Jimmy accidentally knocks him down, causing the rest of the freaks to wanting to join Jimmy. He insists on trekking on alone, but the freaks shortly follow behind him. Jimmy's parents later find Dr. Phreak, assuming he is a lost child, and use him to go find Jimmy.
Jimmy comes across a townful of yokels insulting an ice cream/curry salesman named Pushpop. When he intervenes and tells them to stop, the yokels are confused and later frightened away, when Jimmy mentions that he doesn't have immunity (they think he "has immunity" which they believe is the name of a sickness). The café they are in gets set on fire and Pushpop comes to the rescue, saving Jimmy and driving off with him. Due to his Hindu beliefs, he offers to take Jimmy the rest of the way to Niagara Falls. On the way there, however, the two accidentally run over a cow and Pushpop stops to make amends while Jimmy continues onward.
Pushpop's luck further worsens when a truck drives over the cow's body and smashes it. Slim, along with a gang of fellow bikers stop by to ask for directions, only for the Bright and Shiny cult to come and destroy their bikes, forcing them to take Pushpop's van.
Jimmy encounters a man named Pappy who asks for $500 to drive him to Niagara Falls. By sheer chance, a small Chinese club happens to offer the money needed and Jimmy winds up in the middle of a mud wrestling contest where he easily wins. Before he can get Pappy to drive him, he is stopped by the Bright and Shiny cult who threaten to pop his bubble. The freaks arrive to scare the cult and rescue Jimmy and Slim and the bikers show up, creating an all out brawl. Jimmy escapes with Pappy and he tells him his story where Pappy mentions having once been in love with a woman named Poontang (the sound of the car backfiring replaces the second half of her name), but that he and his brother had an argument over her.
During the drive, Pappy seemingly dies at the wheel and Jimmy is sent flying out of the car and through a billboard sign. He uses a convenience store's phone to try and call Chloe, only to get Mark who tells him that Chloe doesn't love him because of his condition. Saddened, he uses Dr. Phreak's phone number to call, getting his parents as well, and tells them where he is. His parents dump Dr. Phreak in the street. Upon arriving to pick him up, Mort inspires Jimmy to continue his journey, reminding him how far he has come. Jimmy flees and jumps on a plane flown by Pippy (Pappy's brother) who was in love with a woman named Poonani. All parties arrive to either aid or deter Jimmy who flies away. Slim encounters Mrs. Livingston, revealing her to have been Wildfire.
Midflight, Pippy seemingly dies and Jimmy falls from the sky and straight down Niagara Falls, surviving thanks to his bubble. He swims to shore and manages to make it to the church to stop the wedding on time. Jimmy admits to Chloe that he loves her and removes his bubble, kissing her, and supposedly dying just as his parents and everyone else arrives. At this point, Mort reveals the truth, Jimmy had developed an immune system when he was four and his mother has been lying to him this whole time. While visibly upset, Jimmy forgives her, and she in turn allows Jimmy to pursue Chloe as they run off hand in hand.
After Jimmy and Chloe's wedding, everyone has had their own happy endings. Jimmy and Chloe receive another $500 from the Chinese emcee, Mrs. Livingston resumes her wild ways with Slim, with apparently Mort also joining in, Pushpop has converted the Bright and Shiny cult (including their leader Gil) to Hinduism, and the freaks gain the respect of Dr. Phreak. Pappy and Pippy are both revealed to be alive and together with Poonani, drive Jimmy and Chloe off to their honeymoon as the vulture flies closely behind.
Cast[]
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Jimmy Livingston
- Mitch Holleman as 4 year old Jimmy
- Alex Black as 8 year old Jimmy
- Tony Black as 10 year old Jimmy
- Swoosie Kurtz as Mrs. Livingston / Wildfire
- Marley Shelton as Chloe
- Danny Trejo as Slim
- John Carroll Lynch as Morton Livingston
- Verne Troyer as Dr. Phreak
- Dave Sheridan as Mark
- Brian George as Pushpop
- Patrick Cranshaw as Pappy and Pippy
- Stephen Spinella as Chicken Man
- Ever Carradine as Lisa
- Geoffrey Arend as Flipper Boy
- Beetlejuice as Lil' Zip
- Matthew McGrory as Human Sasquatch / Clark
- Bonnie Morgan as Rubber Woman
- Jason Sklar as Schlomo
- Randy Sklar as Dawn
- Ping Wu as Emcee
- Zach Galifianakis as Bus stop man
- Pablo Schreiber as Todd
- Brian Gattas as Todd
- Cinco Paul as Todd
- Ken Daurio as Todd
- Leo Fitzpatrick as Todd
- Arden Myrin as Lorraine
- Shulie Cowen as Lorraine
- Mandy Moore as Lorraine
- Steve Van Wormer as Mark's Friend
- Gary Bullock as Perris Sheriff
- Madajah McCullum O'Hearn as Red Hot
- Stacy Keibler as Working Girl
- Fabio as Gil
- Betty Blowtorch as Themselves (uncredited)
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Pablo Schreiber's film debut.
- Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio appear as members of the Bright and Shiny cult.
- Much of the script was altered during filming, usually at the behest of the cast. John Carroll Lynch made numerous dialogue additions to his character (he was supposed to be mute), while Jake Gyllenhaal and Ping Wu (who plays the Emcee) both adlibbed much of their interactions on the spot including the "Five Hundred Dollar!" line.
- The script was written as a dark comedy before becoming a typical teen rom com.
- Danny Trejo said that this was one of his favorite roles because he doesn't kill anyone.
- Chris Kattan was supposedly approached to make the film, but chose to do Corky Romano instead.
Musical[]
The film was adapted into a musical by the film's original writers in 2013. Contrary to the film, the musical received positive reviews.
