fatcat-73450

This is a rather complicated and meandering work about what is considered one of the basest of subjects - primitive male lust. The subject matter is usually dealt with in the area of farce or fichera, but in this case we get a compelling and pure drama about it.

The set up is two male friends who are as different as the proverbial "fair boy and fat boy" of the opening of Lord of the Flies. Nicholson plays the aggressive and exciting incubus of a man, Jonathan, while Garfunkel plays timid Sandy. Both of them, of course, want to score, but they use different techniques to try to get it. Sandy takes long walks, has long conversations, and tries to connect on a more emotional level with the woman, whereas Jonathan uses pinache and sex appeal to get what he wants.

And that may be a necessary simplification, because although it rings true, the plot isn't neat at all. Instead it's gritty, with the two men being this or that at any given moment. Oten times smooth Jonathan is burning with dissatisfaction or discombobulation. And just as often awkward Sandy seems to be in control of the situation.

I still don't really know what the film is about after careful reflection, but that's not a problem. It didn't need to be about anything. Both Nicholson and Garfunkel give stellar performances and there's a whole lot of good tension and body language in the spirit of My Night at Maud's (1969). And anyway it's not like it lacks any meaning at all. At the end of the day, human sexuality is messy and ugly indeed. Maybe that was the only thing the filmmaker wanted to convey?

Too confusing and meandering to be among the greats, but nevertheless a satisfying and enticing watch.

Honourable Mentions: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). This film was clearly very heavily influenced by Space Odyssey. It's similarly confusing except it seems to take a good long odyssey into male sexuality rather than into space. The ending is not only confusing, but near the end there's a bit where they are dressed in a rather outlandish manner and seated in a rather outlandishly-decorated home 10 or 20 years after the events of the rest of the film. It seems like the director was trying to convey that this was what the 80s or 90s would look like.

There's not that much to say about this film. They put in the most bare bones of plots and somehow simplified it even more than usual to the point that it itself becomes a joke. Boy falls in love with girl, girl's not sure and boy doesn't take the initiative, girl's on the precipice of giving herself to a new more confident male, so she decides to get married 3,000 miles away. Ohh, and she's saving it for marriage. So the pressure is on for boy to get over there.

But this boy isn't just innocent and lacking in initiative, he's so innocent he's been in a bubble his whole life because of lack of immunities.

Probably the most interesting thing about this film, though, is the absurdity of the side characters it brings together. As if the bubble were sticky, as our Bubble Boy rolls from one side of the country to the other, he drags along almost everyone who he comes into contact with. First it's a cult lead by Fabio, then there's a Chicano motorcycle gang, a freak show, a devout Hindu, and a pair of squabbling centennarians.

It's not extremely funny, but it's got its moments and it certainly is bizarre. A worthy road trip farce of the noughties in the style of After Hours (1985) that's equally as crazy and a bit refreshing.

Honourable Mentions: Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999). Bubble Boy is very light-hearted, but I find it difficult to believe that its creators weren't binge-watching Courage. There are just so many similarities in terms of side characters. Over-the-top ethnic stereotypes with crazy accents, a cult, and silly biker gangs would be just the sorts of characters Courage would come into contact with over in the Middle of Nowhere.

This film tried to be many things and didn't fulfill any of them to completion. It's a bum of a movie, always a buck short, usually asking you to give it a small loan or a little more time to deliver what it promised.

First of all, it's really trying to be the great Slavic-American Epic, trying to cover the whole life of this SerboCroatian immigrant kid (Danilo) as well as a great deal of US history of the time period (60s - 70s). But unlike an epic, it comes in at an hour fifty minutes long.

And it wouldn't matter if it were half an hour long, but that hilariously and ironically sets the tone for the rest of the film.

People are racist against a black kid, Danilo just sits and watches. Then like 30 minutes later in the movie the black kid, now a man, is driving to a Civil Rights Protest in Alabama on a bus and invites Danilo, who just watches it go by. So much for that. It's clear this is no Malcolm X (1992).

I think one of the friends goes to fight in an unnamed war, which I can only assume is the Vietnam War. His military career is never referenced again, but eventually he shows up in the film again with an Asian wife and two Asian daughters. If you read the ending credits, you'll see they're Vietnamese. Well, guess it's not going to be the Forrest Gump (1994) of the 70s either.

The female lead sleeps around with different guys and it breaks Danilo's heart because he's obsessed with her. But we never really see why. She's actually obnoxious and self-centered and is in this weird flirty/romantic relationship with the three other titular "friends", eventually putting out for all of them. It's not really tragic like in The Last American Virgin (1982). It's just confusing. Why would he like her and why would he be shocked when she does all these crazy things? And wouldn't he be better off with anyone else?

The dad is a little mean and gruff, but he only shows up in like 4 scenes, so it's not Padre Padroni (1977).

It's also interspersed with shocking, confusing scenes of violent deaths which have no lead up, are not well-explained, and are soon forgotten. So it's not good as an exploitation film either.

It's nothing, it's a story with no spine about three cuckish guys and a girl who is stringing them along at her crazy whims throughout their whole lives. It's a sampler of better and more meaningful movies. A mads libs - get a plot with a bunch of holes and fill them in with your imagination or the ending credits!

Also the beginning where the "four friends" are "teenagers" but clearly look around their 30s is so confusing. Why are they complaining about their parents while they're balding?

Honourable Mentions: In all seriousness, Forrest Gump (1994) really is kind of like a remake of this film except it's funny, has great pacing and buildup, has great drama... It has a POINT. Just a better film in every way.