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Bad Boy Bubby (Screenplays)

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Bad Boy Bubby (Rolf de Heer, 1993)

de Heer's (The Quiet Room, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories) fourth film is a marked departure from anything he'd done before; in fact, it's a marked departure from anything anyone had done before. It's twisted, grotesque, certifiable, and in its own way, incredibly sweet.

Nicholas Hope (Henry Fool, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid) starts in the title role, a man, perhaps autistic, who's been a bad boy (no surprise). He's been so bad that his mother (Robbery Under Arms' Claire Benito, in her only leading role) has kept him locked in the house his whole life, and he's had no human contact other than her. She's convinced him the air outside the house is poisoned, so when he is forced out into the world after a visit from his long-estranged father, he's not only completely unprepared for human contact, but scared to breathe, as well. After he leaves the house, we follow him through a series of adventures that teach him (in warped ways, granted) to communicate with those around him and with the outside world. It's the old Jeff Bridges movie Starman filtered through Oedipus Rex.

I'll warn you, the first half hour of this film is going to drive many people away. The dynamic between Bubby and his mother is a little too weird for the mainstream mind to handle; as well, the first third of the film plays out more like a psychological horror film than the dark comedy it really is. If you have problems with the first half hour, persevere. Once Bubby gets out of the house, things lighten up a good deal (though the humor in the film is never lighter than, say, midnight blue). Bubby's arrested development, both emotional and social, makes for some wonderfully twisted comedy (and, needless to say, various adolescent obsessions that one would expect more from a Hollywood comedy, but they're done here with a little more style-- emphasis on little).Inside the whole thing really does rest a heart of gold; while Bubby may have trouble interacting with the outside world, once he meets people who understand him, the movie reveals a surprisingly sweet center inside the sour coating.

Bad Boy Bubby may not be the best-constructed film in the world, and many viewers will likely find it somewhat crude, but it's still a must-see. *** ½

To my knowledge the only North American showing of this film was at the Seattle Film Festival. It instantly became a word-of-mouth hit. Bad Boy Bubby ROCKS!

While earning honors at Canne, this Australian release was doomed for distribution in this country from the opening scene - Bubby standing naked in a washtub as he is sponge-bathed by his Mum. American distributors blanched; there was NO WAY they could invent a blurb for this film in the first place, and now a naked guy, well forget it, gimme some good old exploding bullet hits.

The first 40 minutes of this film are not for the faint-hearted....there isn't any blood or gore to speak of, but it is unremittingly grim: All Bubby has known for his 34 years is a 2 bedroom windowless cement apartment. His Mum tells him there's been a war, and that without a gas mask, he will die if he goes outside.

There hasn't been any war, or poison gas, Bubby's Mum is just a tad overprotective and wacked out. Of course, he do! es manage to get out. From there...well it HAS to be seen...how do you explain how Bubby buys food in the real world with a saran-wrapped cat corpse? Like Eraserhead, you can't talk about this film, you can only watch it.

Bottom line: I have never seen a film that starts out as grim and unpleasant as this one does that finishes with as sweet an ending. There are a number - many - plot transitions that any other director would have flubbed; the way that De Heer skips thru this minefield is a joy and a wonder. Get it, view it, be grateful that it has finally made it back into this country. A quote from Bubby - "God can see everything I do - and he's gonna beat me brainless."

In my view this movie is the best movie ever produced. It becomes the best send up of Australian Culture and Contemporary life in Australia today.
Bubby isnt a mental case or demented, he has just discovered the outside universe ,the EXTERNAL MANIFESTATION of the world he knew------IE Australian Lifestyle.
If you like Australia and want to go to bed with it, then I recommend this!

Aaron from Brisbane Australia

When me saw Bubby, me be luvin' it! Bubby be havin good time with Mum and Pop and makes them be still. Cat be still too. Adrian wants to be Bubby. 'Two of those wonderfully fattening chocolate eclairs please....thanks sweety.' Adrian be luvin Bubby things and espescially be luvin' Rachael in her garden. Adrian cry for he has no Rschael