tulsastorm

OK, I admit it. I was a child of the 80's. I distinctly remember sitting in elementary school and reading about the boy who lived in a bubble in my Weekly Reader. Naturally, when I saw the trailer for this movie, I asked myself, "Hey, whatever happened to that boy that lived in a bubble?" I knew I had to watch this to satisfy my curiosity. You've got the perfect character...an odd teenage boy that lives in a bubble. Write up an adventurous plot and throw in a cameo by Fabio and some M. C. Hammer on the soundtrack, and you've got yourself a movie that no Gen-X'er can resist.

I was fully expecting this film to be along the lines of "Wayne's World" or "A Night at the Roxbury." The characters are hilarious and exaggerated, but the non-existent plot drags on like a 10 minute skit that has gone 80 minutes too long. To my surprise, Bubble Boy has a fast-moving plot. OK, it is somewhat of an overused plot: Boy falls in love with girl; Girl gets engaged to someone else; Boy interrupts the wedding to get the girl back. You've watched enough movies like this to know how it is going to end, but, as always, it's the journey that Bubble Boy takes to get there that makes this movie interesting and redeeming. Just when you think Jimmy is finally on his way to Niagara Falls, and the movie is going to start dragging, BAM! The ice cream truck hits a cow! After mud wrestling two women while Japanese male spectators cheer him on, Jimmy is back on his way. Just when you think it can't get any more crazy, it does. That bubble plastic must be some tough stuff.

There is an important lesson can be learned from this movie. It is best expressed by Jimmy's dad who is really the only normal character, and only speaks once in the entire movie. He asks, "What if Neil Armstrong flew to the moon, but never set foot on it?" This movie is about taking chances...breaking out of our so-called bubbles, and experiencing life...not just sitting around watching it pass us by.

The dialogue and the jokes can be lame sometimes, but the humor really comes from the absurdity of the characters and the improbable situations the main character runs into. I have to give the writers an A+ for imagination. The movie is sanitized for younger viewers, but gives a wink and a nod to more mature viewers. This is a perfect modern day farce if you are looking for a light and uplifting comedy at the rental store.

FYI, in case you wondered, the original bubble boy, David, died at the age of 13 back in 1984 after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant. Today, infants born without immunity to disease undergo the transplant procedure at a young age, so they don't have to live the rest of their lives in a bubble.

Red Dirt takes place in a tiny rural community in southern Louisiana along the banks of the Mississippi River and revolves around Griffith. Full of angst, Griffith longs to leave this seething cess pool after graduating from high school, but feels he should stay and watch after his Aunt Summer (or as he says, 'Summuh') who raises him like a mother after Grif's parents. Summer is mentally ill...perhaps depression or bi-polar...and mostly stays cooped up in her room listening to depressing opera music. When he's not working around the farm or taking care of his aunt, Griffith hangs out with his cousin, Emily. Things change when a young drifter, Lee, strolls in and befriends Griffith.

The southern accents are slathered on a little thick to put it nicely. Normally, I can understand someone with a deep southern accent, but I frequently had to stop and replay the DVD to catch some of the dialogue. Some scenes are portrayed a bit over-dramatic as well...mostly the ones with Summer. There were several times I couldn't help but bust out laughing over the contrived dialogue and acting which is not necessarily a good thing for a dramatic movie such as this. Maybe this particular rental DVD had some scratches on it, but I came across some very noticeable jump cuts.

You have to wade through a lot of character development to get to see anything remotely gay, and then, seemingly, Griffith comes to terms with himself overnight. We see a quick male-on-male kiss and that's the end of that. To Tag Purvis' credit, the controversial issues are presented very matter-of-fact.

What can I say about the ending without giving it completely away? The characters that are complacent enough with living here move out, and the characters who long to leave wind up staying. No real explanation is given.

Overall, the ending seemed hasty and unsatisfying after sitting through a lot of beautiful cinematography. If you have ever longed to get out of the place and situation you are in and discover your true potential elsewhere, but kept coming up with excuses to stay...probably due to the fear of the unknown..., you will see yourself in this movie. Otherwise, move along. There is nothing to see here.