Bubble Boy

Bubble Boy (2001)

  • 29% of critics liked it
    (82 reviews)

  • 52% of users liked it
    (226,698 ratings)

Jake Gyllenhaal, the young star of the critically well-received October Sky (1999), follows up that film with this offbeat comedy. Gyllenhaal stars as Jimmy Livingston, a teenager with an immune system deficiency who has spent his entire life living in a plastic bubble under the doting,… More

Play Trailer

PG-13,
Directed By
,
Written By
Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Genres
Comedy
In Theaters
Aug 24, 2001 Wide
Touchstone Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Dan Via, Washington Post

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

  • Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

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

  • Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

    This amazingly tasteless, gross-out comedy is full of cruel jokes, stupid characters, schmaltzy sentimentality and situations that make no sense.

  • Nick Rutigliano, Village Voice

    Hollywood monstrosities all, and boy are they scary!

  • Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly

    After enduring only a few minutes of this shrill debacle, you'll feel more trapped in the theater than Jimmy is by his bubble.

Read all 10 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Lucas M


    A silly, not very funny, and forgetable film. Rotten.

  • Manu G


    Life is an adventure. Don't blow it. Cool good movie! This movie was as good as it was funny, perfect balance. It's kinda short but it's enough to be a blast. The story is very good and fun and you can't help but laugh at the different parts of Bubble Boy's… More

  • Conner R


    Jake Gyllenhaal as a comedic superstar. This is a really funny movie, but it's also got a really good message about living life and taking risks. While it's sort've a spoof of Boy in the Plastic Bubble, it's very much its own movie with a slightly similar concept.… More

  • Dean M


    I think this comedy film is awesome with a delightfully goofy plot. The entire cast gives hilarious performances from Swoosie Kurtz in an outrageous psycho-mother performance. Jake Gyllenhaal is very funny as the wide-eyed innocent goes on the adventurous journey with the bubble.… More

  • KJ P


    I laughed very hard! This is an awesome movie!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Currently unavailable on Flixster

Also available on

Other Retailers

Subscription Services

Not Available
Not Available
Not Available

Cast

See more (20)

Trailers & Clips