O Rapaz da Bolha de Plástico

I caught this movie on HBO late one night recently, after hearing about it for years as "that John Travolta movie about the boy in the bubble."

It was bad. No, it was awful. As someone suggested earlier, it's a wonder that MST3K never got a hold of it. But a funny thing happened on the way - the movie went around the circle of quality until it got to bad. It then kept going, getting worse and worse, until it made its way full circle back to great. I'll admit - Citizen Kane this ain't, but it's great for a really, really, bad movie.

Just for laughs, imagine Travolta in his Vinnie Barbarino voice saying "Heyyy... I'm in a bubble heah..."

It's too bad he couldn't have stayed in that bubble, sparing us the agony of Battleship Earth and the Look Who's Talking series.

I just read that there's a movie coming out this year (2001) called Bubble Boy. It sounds like a take off of The Boy in the Plastic Bubble with the exception that it's a comedy. This was one of those great chic flicks in 1976, where you could have a great emotional moment with the girls. I can't believe anyone would make this story into a comedy.

Here is a film for the pandemic! This is the story of a boy born with no immunity from disease, meaning he has to spend his life living in a germ-free bubble. This is one of the first starring roles from John Travolta and its one which relies on the goofy, dumb charm he brought to his early appearances. It's a TV movie from Aaron Spelling and it is melodramatic with a requisite romantic sub-plot involving the girl next door but all that basically works and we are rooting for germ-free John the whole way and we hope he gets the girl! Scenes of him wearing a space suit to school or chilling on the beach in a plastic box, are a bit dorky but that's part of the over all charm. Pretty good!

I'm not sure why this movie is disliked among some, maybe because it's loosely based on a true story? A 5.6 rating certainly isn't bad, but it's way too low for a quality film like this one. Sure. It's corny at times, but that doesn't make it any less moving. I have to be honest. I was one of those people that thought I was gonna dislike it after the groan inducing opening, but it proved me wrong. It was one of John Travolta's first starring features and it shows why he went onto super stardom. I don't think I've seen someone with a handicapped be this cool to be honest. What I liked about it is it managed to balance all the sentimentality with sharp humor. When I first went into this one, I thought it was gonna be full of sap, but I was pleasantly surprised at all the sharp humor. It also helps that Tod (Travolta) is very likable and sympathetic. If the lead was unsympathetic, then it probably wouldn't have been as entertaining as it was. I also dug the cute little love story between Tod & Gina. It is somewhat forbidden due to Tod's condition, but I loved watching it unfold the way it did. I also dug how Tod's parents were written. They felt and acted like natural, caring parents should. You do have some clichés like the typical bully fodder, and the ending was rather artificial, but other than that, I really don't have much to complain about. John Travolta is excellent as Tod. His charm is undeniable, and he gives a really sympathetic show. He was perfect for the part. Glynnis O'Connor is a total cutie. She has her wooden moments, but overall I dug her for the most part. Her chemistry with Travolta is good. Robert Reed & Diana Hyland are very effective and natural as the parents of Tod.

Note: Interestingly enough… Thanks to some IMDb Trivia. I found out Diana Hyland & John Travolta fell in love off screen before she sadly passed away.

Final Thoughts: Everyone has a right to their opinion, but this is a good film. I really don't understand the average rating for this film. Travolta proves why he was meant for super stardom here. It's on You Tube, so I'd definitely go and watch it if I were you. Give it a chance!

7.5/10

Remenbering my teenagers years when this movie aired for first time in Brazil by Globo TV in 1978, based in real facts about the boy who was born without immune system, so the doctor developed a bubble added with device to supply sterile air to secure him against bacteria, so he lives inside the bubble since then, the movie made a huge success at this time even though it a low budge and lousy work, also catapulted John Travolta's career before Staying Alive, unfortunately the DVD released here has a poor image needing a complete restoration, it's a crying shame that so important movie didn't has it before to sell, but even so brings me good memories from this time!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1978 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6