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Plot

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, overprotective care of his mother (Swoosie Kurtz). Jimmy is in love with his next-door neighbor Chloe (Marley Shelton), so when he learns that she has left for Niagara Falls in order to be married, he's devastated. He quickly assembles a portable "bubble suit" and sets out on a 2,755.8-mile odyssey in order to stop her and proclaim his affection. Along the way, Jimmy experiences a number of adventures, including encounters with freaks, bikers, rock stars, and a cult. Bubble Boy is a comic riff on the classic TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), which starred a young John Travolta.
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for language and crude sexual humor.
Genre(s):
Comedy,Drama
Run Time:
84min.
Theatrical Release Date:
08/24/2001
DVD Release Date:
01/15/2002
Distributor(s):
Buena Vista
Director(s):
Blair Hayes
Starring:
Jake Gyllenhaal , Swoosie Kurtz , Marley Shelton , Danny Trejo , John Carroll Lynch
Themes:
Mothers and Sons,Otherwise Engaged,Obsessive Quests,Nothing Goes Right,Journey of Self-Discovery
Tone:
Bright,Goofy,Irreverent,Quirky,Satirical,Silly,Ironic
Keywords:
engagement,immune-deficiency,journey,mother,repression,teenagers,wedding-plans
Country of Origin:
USA (08-24-2001)
Language:
English