The Bubble (2022 film)

Following a problematic film role that nearly destroyed her career, actress Carol Cobb is given the opportunity to revive her reputation by reluctantly reprising her role as the heroic Dr. Lacey Nightingale in the sixth installment of the wildly popular Cliff Beasts franchise: Cliff Beasts 6: Battle for Everest: Memories of a Requiem. Carol had turned down appearing in the fifth film in favor of doing the aforementioned panned role, and she fears that her former Cliff Beasts castmates may hold a grudge against her for abandoning them and the franchise.

One of the first major film productions to begin shooting amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cliff Beasts cast arrive at a swanky English hotel and must self-quarantine for two weeks prior to the shoot. During these two weeks, Carol slowly loses her sanity being stuck in her room. After this period is over, a welcome back party is organized for the cast and crew. Here, Carol happily reunites with co-stars Dustin, Howie and Sean but has an awkward meeting with Lauren, the only Cliff Beasts co-star that appears bitter after Carol's abandonment. The party also welcomes two series newcomers, Dieter, a respected, but indifferent veteran actor, and Krystal, a young TikTok sensation brought in to attract a younger demographic. The latter quickly forms an alliance with Carla, a deadpan on-set production assistant who's around her age. Director Darren Eigan, an enthusiastic, but frazzled indie filmmaker tries to boost team morale and make the shoot something special but comes off as pretentious. Darren clashes with leading man Dustin, who constantly bombards Darren with revised versions of the film's script to fit his own vision. Dieter harbors a crush on Anika, the hotel's sweet front desk clerk, and hits on her. She responds that she’s interested but wants to build a proper relationship with him first before jumping into sex.

Shooting begins and for the first few days, everything appears to be going according to plan. Sean humorously learns to fly a helicopter up and down. However, a rocky series of events occur that repeatedly delay the production even further. During a group meditation session, Howie succumbs to paranoia and quits the film in a panic. As a result, Howie's Cliff Beasts character is killed off in a gruesome display. Bored in the hotel, Krystal and Carla sneak out and go partying in the city. This gains traction online and gets Krystal cancelled for her behavior, losing her a large portion of followers.

Later the cast tests positive for influenza, linked to a delivery girl who had brought them all their coffee. Despite their sicknesses, the studio forces them to film, leading to them all violently vomiting during an intense shoot. The cast is told to self-quarantine yet again. Introduced is the mysterious Mr. Best, who claims to be the head of a new security team sent by the studio to watch over the cast and the film's production.

While in the hotel, Carol’s boyfriend breaks up with her over the phone. A dejected Carol ends up encountering a handsome member of a football team who's residing at the hotel. Carol nearly has a fling with him before he reveals he's married and that he already has multiple girlfriends and mistresses. When the shoot starts back up again, Carol realizes that almost all of her character's dialogue and actions have been either given to Krystal or omitted. Humiliated after shooting a scene where Dr. Lacey urinates in fear, Carol suspects this is the studio’s way of getting back at her for leaving the franchise. Carol has a heart-to-heart with Darren and tells him of her concerns, Darren promises to talk to the higher-ups about giving Carol her dialogue back but this backfires.

Lauren tries to escape from the hotel in a frenzy one night. Mr. Best's men graphically shoot one of her hands off, leaving her in the hospital for the remainder of the shoot. Mr. Best claims that his men thought Lauren was a crazed fan that had wandered onto the premises, but the cast theorizes that Mr. Best himself is the crazed fan who wants them to complete the movie by any means necessary. Infuriated, Carol tries to rally together her castmates and fight for their rights as workers.

One night, the remaining cast take drugs together and bond over the grievances they've been having not only with the shoot but also with themselves. Shortly afterwards, they film an elaborate dancing TikTok with Krystal. During this Dieter collapses due to the drugs. The cast quickly works together in an attempt to revive him but to no avail. However, Anika manages to revive him, cementing their relationship. This event inspires Carol, noticing the cast’s long forgotten effective teamwork. The reinvigorated friendship proves strong and they organize a getaway plan. As they shoot the climax, Dustin creates a distraction by clashing with Darren about the script revisions while the rest of the cast members leave the set and try to avoid getting caught by Mr. Best and his men.

Carla reveals she was a studio mole put in place to befriend Krystal and spy on the cast, leading to a livestreamed fistfight between the two girls. Meanwhile, Carol is chased down and nearly caught by a relentless Mr. Best but is saved at the last moment when Howie returns and incapacitates Mr. Best with a bow. The cast meets up at the helipad, calling upon an unsure Sean to fly them out. A furious Darren tries to stop them from leaving, only to be knocked out by Dustin. Inside the helicopter they find Anika, who hopes to run away with Dieter, an offer he happily accepts. Sean is able to get the helicopter up off the ground but doesn't know how to fly it forward. With encouragement from the rest of the crew, Sean successfully flies the helicopter away from the hotel as the Cliff Beasts cast celebrate their victory.

Two years later, a behind the scenes documentary detailing the troubled production and crazy antics on the set entitled Beasts of the Bubble is released to rave reviews and praise from the public. While Carol is described as "the villain" of the film, she's proud of the project. Dieter and Anika's relationship is still strong. Lauren is seen to be in good spirits, having been fitted with a robotic hand. Meanwhile, Darren is signed on to direct a movie based on Skittles candy.

• Karen Gillan as Carol Cobb, a washed-up actress portraying Dr. Lacey Nightingale in the Cliff Beasts franchise.
• Iris Apatow as Krystal Kris, a TikTok superstar who joins the Cliff Beasts 6 cast as the character Vivian Joy. An uncredited Maude Apatow also briefly portrays Kris in a parodic scene.
• Pedro Pascal as Dieter Bravo, a serious veteran actor portraying a new character and tragic villain named Gio in Cliff Beasts 6 while coping with both an addiction to sex and hard drugs.
• Leslie Mann as Lauren Van Chance, an actress who portrays a Cliff Beasts fan favorite character named Dolly, as well as Dustin’s on-and-off love interest.
• Fred Armisen as Darren Eigan, a former indie filmmaker hired to direct Cliff Beasts 6.
• David Duchovny as Dustin Mulray, the workaholic lead of the Cliff Beasts franchise who portrays the character Dr. Hal Packard, as well as Lauren’s on-and-off love interest.
• Keegan-Michael Key as Sean Knox, an actor who portrays the Cliff Beasts character Colt Rockwell and promotes himself as a wellness guru when not on-camera.
• Kate McKinnon as Paula, the studio executive overseeing the Cliff Beasts franchise.
• Guz Khan as Howie Frangopolous, an actor who portrays Jarrar, the comic relief character of the Cliff Beasts franchise.
• Peter Serafinowicz as Gavin, executive producer of the Cliff Beasts franchise.
• Maria Bamford as Krystal's mom
• Vir Das as Ronjon, the owner of the hotel playing host to the Cliff Beasts 6 cast and crew.
• Maria Bakalova as Anika, a hotel clerk propositioned by Dieter.
• Rob Delaney as Marti, Carol's agent.
• Galen Hopper as Carla, the daughter of the stunt coordinator and Gavin's production assistant who pretends to be friends with Krystal.
• Samson Kayo as Bola, the cast coordinator.
• Nick Kocher as Scott Dawson, the behind-the-scenes stills photographer.
• Ross Lee as Mr. Best, the head of security.
• Harry Trevaldwyn as Gunther, the awkward COVID safety officer.
• Danielle Vitalis as Pippa
• Ben Ashenden as Tip, the MoCap Guy
• Alexander Owen as Cyril, the MoCap Guy
• Benedict Cumberbatch as himself, appearing in a drug-induced hallucination.
• Donna Air as Susan Howard, Entertainment Tonight reporter[2]
• Beck as himself, hired to perform for the cast.
• John Lithgow as Tom, the studio chairman
• Daisy Ridley as Kate, an exercise AI who had sex with Dieter during a drug trip. Her human model later appears at the red carpet premiere for Beasts of the Bubble with Dieter and Anika.
• John Cena as Steve, the incompetent stunt coordinator who appears through a video call.
• James McAvoy as himself

It was announced in November 2020 that Judd Apatow had set his next film at Netflix, with the film being about the production of a film during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The Bubble was written by Apatow and Pam Brady. It was inspired by the production of Jurassic World Dominion (2022), which was filmed during the pandemic with its actors living together in a hotel during the shoot.[4][5]

In February 2021, Karen Gillan, Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, Maria Bakalova, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, Leslie Mann, Pedro Pascal and Peter Serafinowicz were cast to star in the film.[6] On March 16, 2021, Vir Das, Rob Delaney, Galen Hopper, Samson Kayo, Guz Khan, Nick Kocher, Ross Lee, Harry Trevaldwyn and Danielle Vitalis joined the cast.[7]

Principal photography began on February 22, 2021, and concluded on April 16, 2021, in the United Kingdom at Shepperton Studios in Shepperton, Hedsor House in Hedsor and Cliveden House in Taplow.[8][9][10]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 24% based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Meandering and mostly unfunny, The Bubble gums up an all-star cast with hackneyed gags about showbiz and pandemic life."[11] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 34 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[12]

• The Bubble on Netflix
• The Bubble at IMDb