The Bubble

IndieWire by David Ehrlich

Apatow gets a lot of shit for making scattershot comedies that run the length of David Lean epics, but the patchwork of scenes that comprise his latest have less in common with “Funny People” than they do “Movie 43,” and might just be aimless enough to make the director’s critics appreciate the flow of his earlier work.

The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

A slapdash comedy with an embarrassment of misused talent.

Slant Magazine by Jake Cole

The film’s toothless showbiz satire mostly comes down to teasing its characters for their entitlement and self-importance.

Empire by John Nugent

Judd Apatow’s broadest film yet is a patchy collection of Covid-themed comedy cock-ups — but a talented ensemble of performers means you’re never too far away from your next laugh.

The Film Stage by Jordan Raup

Bits and pieces work—an underused Maria Bakalova, in one of her first post-Borat roles, stands out as she contends with Dieter’s advances; there are a few laughs seeing Carol dealing with a crumbling relationship at home with no way to intervene; Dustin placing more importance over this franchise than his newly adopted son––but The Bubble‘s vast majority plays as Day for Night for dummies. Comedy can certainly be extracted from the strange new world we find ourselves in, but Apatow’s project is a meta experiment in search of a purpose beyond delivering a few scant chuckles.

Entertainment Weekly by Leah Greenblatt

Both directors have made much better movies; go watch one of those instead.

The A.V. Club by Luke Y. Thompson

Even if the characters on screen didn’t become better artists during the pandemic, then Apatow at least should have. With The Bubble, he seems to have mistaken jokes about moviemaking for moviemaking that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Paste Magazine by Natalia Keogan

While attempting to highlight the inconsequential nature of “rich people problems,” the film isn’t incisive or clever enough to parody the very cinematic sensation it’s unintentionally playing into.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

This could have been a good premise, but the basic idea of the pandemic and bubbling up itself now feels spurious and dated, and there just aren’t enough funny lines to carry this film through its punishing 126-minute running time.

Variety by Peter Debruge

Judd Apatow made a movie. A very bad movie.