Bad Boy Bubby

1993
12
1h 54m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

16K

YOUR RATING

Bubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape, and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into the modern and nihilistic life begins.

Play trailer1:52

2 Videos

84 Photos

Dark Comedy Comedy Crime Drama

Bubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and n... Read allBubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.Bubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

16K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 9 wins & 3 nominations total

Videos2

Trailer 1:52

Trailer

Clip 3:06

Bad Boy Bubby: A Night Out

Clip 3:06

Bad Boy Bubby: A Night Out

Photos84

+ 80

User reviews119

7.315.7K

Featured reviews

7tcjohnston

OUCH - yet compelling

My wife commented, "This film makes 'Eraserhead' look like Disney." Please keep all minors at least 1000 feet from this DVD. The first act is excruciating and horribly disturbing. But hang in there if you can, because it becomes a surreal adventure where lots of fun (or not) stuff happens to the man-child protagonist.

There are tons of recurring themes and allegories (not to mention the ironies). I thought it was a nearly perfectly crafted film, and learned from the extras the director was 10 years in to the project, and intentionally used 32 different cinematographers to create his vision. Well it works.

I noted to my wife I won't need to see it again, because it's seared into my brain. It ain't for the faint of heart, but it has loads of heart.

We're still discussing various aspects of this film. And isn't that what a good movie should be like?

7TheAnimalMother

From His Head Down To His Shoe, He's Bad Boy Bubby Blue

This film is listed as a Comedy, Crime, Drama, and it definitely is. But know that this is definitely a comedy first and foremost, a comedy layered with a light dose of satirical social commentary.

This film came out before Forrest Gump, but it definitely is comparable in many ways. Try to imagine a darker Forrest Gump on hallucinogenic steroids and you basically have Bad Boy Bubby. Just like Gump, not much of the story is told in a very believable way. In the case of both films however, neither let that get in the way of telling a good story. And in the case of this film, there is definitely some hint of substance that accompanies the fantastical madness. When I first saw the film, I couldn't help thinking that this is just what Forrest Gump would have been like if a young David Lynch had written and directed it. Mainly because there is no film more comparable to Bad Boy Bubby than Lynch's intense social commentary masterpiece, Eraserhead. This film basically is a light Eraserhead, but with a darker Forrest Gump type character as the lead. Both films stories and commentary are delivered in a similar manner. Though it would also be fair to say that Eraserhead is definitely far more complex in it's detailed metaphors and far deeper in it's overall vision and social commentary.

All that said, this film is a well under the radar standout in its own right. It has a little something to say, and it also delivers a lot of laughs.

7/10.

7CharltonBoy

Fascinating but difficult to watch in places.

I dont think i have ever seen a film quite like Bad Boy Bubby or am ever likely to see another like it. It is a piece of film making that is not scared to show or say anything that might be seen as taboo in many people's eyes. We see scenes that involve incest,Murder,exploitation , extremely bad language and the mentaly handicapped yet this film, disturbing as it is , has a certain charm like no other. Nicholas Hope is fantastic as Bubby and gives a display like none that i have seen in a long while. It could not have been easy taking on the role of a retarded man and having to do the thing that he does in the film.

As i have mentioned this film is disturbing and may upset many people. i would not recommend it for family viewing but i would recommend it to any film buff. Finally i must repeat the line that the factory worker teaches to Bubby, because it is so true and it stands for everything that i believe in. " Think god out of existance,it is our duty to insult him,strike me down if you dare to,you tyrant, you non existent fraud. It is the duty to think god out of existance , because then and only then do we take full responsibility for who we are!" A quite brilliant piece of writing. 7 out of 10.

10mogwai-1

Crazy, insane, black, funny, terrifying, weird, SUPERB.

This film changed my life. No, really. It was a Friday night, and the parents were away. I was on my own in front of the television, and Channel 4 (UK + Irish viewers will know of it) was showing Bad Boy Bubby as part of some cult film season. Well, to cut a long story short, I was glued to the screen for the duration of the film (I drooled and stared at it during the commercial breaks) and when it was over, I realised that the dinner was entirely burnt. Not a particularly relevant story, you may think, but note that the television was IN THE KITCHEN, mere feet from the oven. That's how good this film is. It features possibly the greatest crazy monologue ever committed to celluloid (the pub/microphone scene), two of the most disturbing murders in any movie I've seen (and I've seen thousands), one of the most unsettling relationships I've seen, and an unbelievable central performance. This film is darker than dark, and stranger than Eraserhead. Just as Bubby is on his own throughout the film, so is the viewer. Alone, confused and disturbed beyond words.

And I've never thought of the Salvation Army in the same way since.

10/10

8daveisit

Some Of The Funniest Scenes I've Ever Seen.

Many people have found this movie overly confronting and ultimately very disturbing. If you give it a chance it gets you thinking and had me laughing uncontrollably. Some of Bubby's interactions with the outside world were hilarious. It's far from a comedy though, and will bring you through many emotions before the movies over.

Definitely worth watching. (7.5 out of 10)

More like this

7.3

The Tracker

6.5

Alexandra's Project

6.9

10 canoës, 150 lances et 3 épouses

7.3

Charlie's Country

6.9

Ex Drummer

7.4

C'est arrivé près de chez vous

7.3

Seul contre tous

7.7

Happiness

7.5

Réveil dans la terreur

6.4

Death in Brunswick

7.0

Being Bubby

6.7

Black Jack

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Most of the sound was recorded by two binaural microphones hidden in actor Nicholas Hope's ears.

Quotes
The Scientist: [plays organ music in church]
Bubby: Jesus can see everything I do... and he's going to beat me brainless!
The Scientist: Come down.
[Scene change; they are in a factory]
The Scientist: You see, no one's going to help you Bubby, because there isn't anybody out there to do it. No one. We're all just complicated arrangements of atoms and subatomic particles - we don't live. But our atoms do move about in such a way as to give us identity and consciousness. We don't die; our atoms just rearrange themselves. There is no God. There can be no God; it's ridiculous to think in terms of a superior being. An inferior being, maybe, because we, we who don't even exist, we arrange our lives with more order and harmony than God ever arranged the earth. We measure; we plot; we create wonderful new things. We are the architects of our own existence. What a lunatic concept to bow down before a God who slaughters millions of innocent children, slowly and agonizingly starves them to death, beats them, tortures them, rejects them. What folly to even think that we should not insult such a God, damn him, think him out of existence. It is our duty to think God out of existence. It is our duty to insult him. Fuck you, God! Strike me down if you dare, you tyrant, you non-existent fraud! It is the duty of all human beings to think God out of existence. Then we have a future. Because then - and only then - do we take full responsibility for who we are. And that's what you must do, Bubby: think God out of existence; take responsibility for who you are.

Crazy credits
The closing credits play over a scene showing Bubby playing in a garden with his children.

Alternate versions
The 18-rated UK release of this film was cut by 3s for the cinema version and a further 20s for video. The 3s cut for the cinema version was to remove a scene of a tethered cat being pulled by a string (a scene which contravened the UK Animals Act). All the cuts were waived for the 2007 DVD release.

Connections
Featured in Century of Cinema: 100 ans de cinéma: 100 ans de cinéma australien - 40 000 ans de rêve (1996)

Soundtracks
Largo from Xerxes
Written by George Frideric Handel (as G. F. Handel)
Performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Jose Serebrier
licensed from KEM Enterprises Inc USA