Bubble Boy

Play trailer

Bubble Boy

PG-13

2001

1h 24m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

33%

Tomatometer

80 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

A coming-of-age comedy follows the life of Jimmy Livingston (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man born without immunities and raised in a manufactured world provided by his well-intentioned, but misguided mother (Swoosie Kurtz). But when he realizes that he's in love with Chloe (Marley Shelton), the girl next door, he has no choice but to build a mobile bubble suit, and set off across the country to Niagara Falls, to stop Chloe's wedding -- which is only seven days away -- in time to confess his love.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Bubble Boy bounces along with lame, offensive jokes that are more tasteless than funny.

Read Critics Reviews

Dan Via

Washington Post

Jan 6, 2002

Hayes shows a deft touch with both cartoony slapstick and character-based comedy and manages to create moments of real poignancy in between.

Go to Full Review

Tim Cogshell

Boxoffice Magazine

Sep 4, 2001

The road trip aspect of Bubble Boy provides fodder for most of the jokes, which are requisitely crude and tactless and only occasionally amusing.

Go to Full Review

Kirk Honeycutt

The Hollywood Reporter

Aug 31, 2001

Seldom has a more misguided movie escaped from a major studio than Touchstone's Bubble Boy.

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Aug 2, 2024

2.5/4

...somewhat erratic yet mostly entertaining...

Go to Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Nov 7, 2019

Sweet, charming, surprising, inspirational and funny. Bubble Boy is pure Disney gold.

Go to Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Apr 29, 2009

A fun and oddly entertaining twist on the road trip film.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Jacob W

@SteelioTontos Oct 21, 2026

Definitely had some solid comedy to it, but was still a weak movie.

See more

Owen K

@NCR23 Oct 14, 2026

An incredibly funny and nonsense movie. Really loved it, it had a very unique story to tell. Also had the absolute goat jake Gyllenhaal.

See more

Maxsuel S

@Maxine191 Oct 1, 2026

Jimmy Bolha me conquistou completamente. O filme é fofo, carismático e conseguiu me arrancar sorrisos desde os primeiros minutos. Jimmy rapidamente se tornou um dos meus personagens favoritos, e sua jornada me passou uma sensação incrível de leveza. Mais do que um filme divertido, virou um sentimento para mim — daqueles que deixam a vida um pouco mais leve.

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Oct 3, 2025

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

See more

Kaden D

@kdollar Feb 12, 2025

Very entertaining, and I got many good laughs. My favorite characters have to be Pappy and Pippy.

See more

Alexander S

@RT61935749 Feb 6, 2025

Bubble Boy is a stupid, cute, fun film with young Jake Gyllanhal’s decent comedic dynamic that carries this film along with other known actors and their comedic moments. Nothing spectacular. Grading: C

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Blair Hayes

Director

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jimmy Livingston

Swoosie Kurtz

Mrs. Livingston

Marley Shelton

Chloe

Danny Trejo

Slim

John Carroll Lynch

Mr. Livingston

Joe Dirt

10%

64%

Joe Dirt

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Joe Dirt

What's the Worst That Could Happen?

10%

35%

What's the Worst That Could Happen?

Watchlist

The Hot Chick

23%

59%

The Hot Chick

Watchlist

EDtv

65%

30%

EDtv

Watchlist

Can't Hardly Wait

42%

63%

Can't Hardly Wait

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Can't Hardly Wait

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A coming-of-age comedy follows the life of Jimmy Livingston (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man born without immunities and raised in a manufactured world provided by his well-intentioned, but misguided mother (Swoosie Kurtz). But when he realizes that he's in love with Chloe (Marley Shelton), the girl next door, he has no choice but to build a mobile bubble suit, and set off across the country to Niagara Falls, to stop Chloe's wedding -- which is only seven days away -- in time to confess his love.

Director: Blair Hayes
Producer: Beau Flynn
Screenwriter: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Germ Free Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Crude Sexual Humor)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.0M
Runtime: 1h 24m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings