2008 Woodie Awards
Bubbling With Boredom
Soderberg delivers a boring experience.
Marco Elorreaga
Issue date: 2/15/06 Section: Valley Life
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"Bubble" is the newest film from director Steven Soderbergh, the man who brought us films like "Traffic," "Erin Brockovich" and the "Ocean's Eleven" films, takes a break from mainstream Hollywood to exorcise his independent spirit.
Soderbergh has helmed many independently filmed movies before, such as his classic "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" and the star-studded "Full Frontal." With "Bubble," Soderbergh tries something new, though - he releases the film simultaneously in theaters, DVD and cable, making it accessible to anyone - but does it work?
With the recent boom in the home entertainment industry (HDTVs and DVDs) and the decline in theater attendance, there has been a shift in the dynamics of how people like to view their movies. Soderbergh takes advantage of this fact and films the movie entirely on digital video, with non-actors and a budget of $1.6 million. The result? A movie no one has heard of, and maybe for the better.
The film centers on three characters working at a doll factory and living their mundane lives from paycheck to paycheck. Martha (Debbie Doebereiner) is a middle-aged, overweight, doll-faced woman who develops an odd and dependant friendship with her coworker, Kyle (Dustin Ashley), but whether it is a mutual friendship is always in question.
The friendship is disrupted by a young, single-mother, Rose (Misty Wilkins), who is hired at the doll factory when a giant toy order is placed. Sparks fly between Kyle and Rose despite Martha's disapproval. Soon, the foundation of their friendship seems to be jeopardized and what appears to be a regular day in a small Ohio town turns out to be a revelation for each character.
The revelation of this film is the making of it. Soderbergh and writer, Coleman Hough, have great faith in their actors. Where story structure lacks, the actors make up with their performances. They give the film a realistic touch of Middle America. But this might also be the problem. With the direction of Soderbergh, the actors don't engage in complete random, everyday conversation, but manage to drag out 73 minutes of monotonous dialogue with intervals of the blaring guitars that make up the score.
While the DVD special features are enlightening, especially the "Making-of Featurette" and the Higher Definition interview with Soderbergh, the movie seems more like an experiment worth analyzing than a movie to entertain. In other words, this "Bubble" is burst.
Soderbergh has helmed many independently filmed movies before, such as his classic "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" and the star-studded "Full Frontal." With "Bubble," Soderbergh tries something new, though - he releases the film simultaneously in theaters, DVD and cable, making it accessible to anyone - but does it work?
With the recent boom in the home entertainment industry (HDTVs and DVDs) and the decline in theater attendance, there has been a shift in the dynamics of how people like to view their movies. Soderbergh takes advantage of this fact and films the movie entirely on digital video, with non-actors and a budget of $1.6 million. The result? A movie no one has heard of, and maybe for the better.
The film centers on three characters working at a doll factory and living their mundane lives from paycheck to paycheck. Martha (Debbie Doebereiner) is a middle-aged, overweight, doll-faced woman who develops an odd and dependant friendship with her coworker, Kyle (Dustin Ashley), but whether it is a mutual friendship is always in question.
The friendship is disrupted by a young, single-mother, Rose (Misty Wilkins), who is hired at the doll factory when a giant toy order is placed. Sparks fly between Kyle and Rose despite Martha's disapproval. Soon, the foundation of their friendship seems to be jeopardized and what appears to be a regular day in a small Ohio town turns out to be a revelation for each character.
The revelation of this film is the making of it. Soderbergh and writer, Coleman Hough, have great faith in their actors. Where story structure lacks, the actors make up with their performances. They give the film a realistic touch of Middle America. But this might also be the problem. With the direction of Soderbergh, the actors don't engage in complete random, everyday conversation, but manage to drag out 73 minutes of monotonous dialogue with intervals of the blaring guitars that make up the score.
While the DVD special features are enlightening, especially the "Making-of Featurette" and the Higher Definition interview with Soderbergh, the movie seems more like an experiment worth analyzing than a movie to entertain. In other words, this "Bubble" is burst.
