Bubble Boy

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Bubble Boy

PG-13

2001

1h 24m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

32%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

A coming-of-age comedy follows the life of Jimmy Livingston (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man born without immunities and raised in a manufactured world provided by his well-intentioned, but misguided mother (Swoosie Kurtz). But when he realizes that he's in love with Chloe (Marley Shelton), the girl next door, he has no choice but to build a mobile bubble suit, and set off across the country to Niagara Falls, to stop Chloe's wedding -- which is only seven days away -- in time to confess his love.

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Critics Consensus

Bubble Boy bounces along with lame, offensive jokes that are more tasteless than funny.

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Dan Via

Washington Post

01/06/2002

Hayes shows a deft touch with both cartoony slapstick and character-based comedy and manages to create moments of real poignancy in between.

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Tim Cogshell

Boxoffice Magazine

09/04/2001

The road trip aspect of Bubble Boy provides fodder for most of the jokes, which are requisitely crude and tactless and only occasionally amusing.

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Kirk Honeycutt

The Hollywood Reporter

08/31/2001

Seldom has a more misguided movie escaped from a major studio than Touchstone's Bubble Boy.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

08/02/2024

2.5/4

...somewhat erratic yet mostly entertaining...

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

11/07/2019

Sweet, charming, surprising, inspirational and funny. Bubble Boy is pure Disney gold.

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

04/29/2009

A fun and oddly entertaining twist on the road trip film.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Oct 3

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Kaden D

@RT72531975 02/12/2025

Very entertaining, and I got many good laughs. My favorite characters have to be Pappy and Pippy.

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Alexander S

@RT61935749 02/06/2025

Bubble Boy is a stupid, cute, fun film with young Jake Gyllanhal’s decent comedic dynamic that carries this film along with other known actors and their comedic moments. Nothing spectacular. Grading: C

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Benjamin J

@RT48001836 11/24/2024

This movie was definetely on crack

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gandano

@RT34871186 03/29/2024

so dumb it's funny!!

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Sean D

@RT32113921 02/02/2024

Not amazing, but definitely a tad underrated. I remember I happened to come accross this just by chance one night, and I really enjoyed it. Then a few months later I was staying at my auntys and her freind had borrowed her a few of his dvds for me to watch. And one was donnie darko, looking at the films I saw the bubble boy guy there ! So I watched it specifically for him really, and was absolutely blown away by him in that. Ever since he has been one of my favourite actors. And I still rewatch these two every so often. Which I don't do with to many films

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Blair Hayes

Director

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jimmy Livingston

Swoosie Kurtz

Mrs. Livingston

Marley Shelton

Chloe

Danny Trejo

Slim

John Carroll Lynch

Mr. Livingston

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Synopsis

A coming-of-age comedy follows the life of Jimmy Livingston (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man born without immunities and raised in a manufactured world provided by his well-intentioned, but misguided mother (Swoosie Kurtz). But when he realizes that he's in love with Chloe (Marley Shelton), the girl next door, he has no choice but to build a mobile bubble suit, and set off across the country to Niagara Falls, to stop Chloe's wedding -- which is only seven days away -- in time to confess his love.

Director: Blair Hayes
Producer: Beau Flynn
Screenwriter: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Germ Free Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Crude Sexual Humor)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.0M
Runtime: 1h 24m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)