The Bubble

Now that we are officially some two years into the pandemic, it makes sense that we might begin to see a film or two that fully reckon with COVID-19 in whatever way the studios best see fit. It’s a question that most are avoiding: do you acknowledge the pandemic’s existence in film? While most don’t, Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Trainwreck) evidently saw the opportunity for potential comedic gold.

Apatow returns on Netflix with this meta-comedy starring Karen Gillian, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Pedro Pascal, and more in an ensemble cast. As a mockumentary of sorts, the idea is that we are following the filming of a fictional long-running franchise involving dinosaurs.

The first twenty seconds or so sees our intrepid crew in the midst of the action. If one didn’t know it was a Judd Apatow film, one might surmise it really was an action movie, albeit perhaps not a particularly inspired one (replete with the opening sound of a South American flute to set the context). This fake action music from the soundstage sets us up for 0:23, however, where the proverbial rug is pulled, and we are treated to the screaming actors dangling by wires in front of a green screen, with the previous epic action music nowhere to be heard. The music reverts to a playful, spare, piano-driven motif with a slight sense of unease percolating underneath—reasonable, given the various all-too-familiar pandemic safety protocols on display: visors, swabs, and of course masks all feature as the studio contends with making it work despite these obstacles.

Following the unwritten rule of comedy trailers, the music stops at 0:53 for the first punchline, picking up again with a bit more on the low end of the arrangement a beat later. At 0:59 the music pauses again, with extra punctuation, both ending on a dominant chord and also in synch with a closing door. On the third iteration, the piano reverts to some drama, with a lingering chord on the low end contrasting with the highest keys yet played, only to pause for another punchline at 1:12. At 1:15 the music takes on a different tone altogether, breaking away from rhythmic evenness and settling into a groove with proper drums—this is “edamame” by bbno$ (sic), featuring Rich Brian.

For the second half, the pace picks up; in the montage, it’s clear that Apatow will be capitalizing on the new conceit about a film about filmmaking, venturing into comedic special effects territory that is new to him. Note how at 2:16 the music stops with a gun firing on screen (whether it’s real or special effects inside the world of the film is another question, which be in the realm of poor taste given the accident on the set of Rust).

Overall, the trailer suggests a light dramatic treatment that capitulates rather quickly to a theatre of the absurd. In other words, it’s perhaps exactly what one would expect if you’d heard Judd Apatow was making a movie explicitly incorporating COVID-19—and all the fallout that followed.

The Bubble arrives on Netflix April 1st.

— Curtis Perry