Discover one of Jake Gyllenhaal’s first notable roles, long before he was the star of “Prince of Persia”, “Enemy” and “Night Call”.
At 21, Jake Gyllenhaal is filming the (somewhat) romantic comedy Bubble Boy, today forgotten by the majority of the public, except for complete fans of the actor from Night Call, Prisoners and The Secret of Brokeback Mountain.
We follow Jimmy, who grew up as a bubble child due to an immune failure: the slightest microbe can kill him. When he learns that Chloe, the childhood friend he is in love with, is getting married in Niagara Falls, he sets out to find her by building a portable bubble that allows him to finally leave his house.
Bubble Boy is Blair Hayes’ first feature film, and also the one that is somewhat remembered, largely thanks to the presence of Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role. Without him, Bubble Boy would probably have faded into obscurity, despite a gallery of famous supporting actors like Danny Trejo, John Carroll Lynch, Brian George, Pablo Schreiber (in his first role) and Zach Galifianakis.
Touchstone Pictures
Originally, the film was supposed to be tinged with dark humor and be a Donnie Darko-style curiosity (released the same year in the United States), which was completely eclipsed at the request of the Disney studio in order to produce a most classic teenage comedy. The final result turns out to be as high as the risks taken, that is to say quite low.
Touchstone Pictures
It remains a watchable comedy if we accept an improbable story starting point and appreciate the aesthetic and the “80s” tone that Bubble Boy seems to claim. The characters encountered by Jimmy during his road trip are symbolically stuck in their own individual invisible bubble which will be shattered by crazy events.
Touchstone Pictures
Note that Bubble Boy is inspired by the TV movie Bubble Boy with John Travolta, broadcast in 1976 and that upon its release, the film was accused by the mother of a young boy who died at the age of 12 from this disease of being a “transvestite” of immunodeficiency. At the box office, the film turned out to be a dismal failure which did not even benefit from theatrical distribution in France.