Bad Boy Bubby (Screenplays)
by Rolf De Heer
Book Summary Information
Author: Rolf De HeerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1996-05
ISBN: 0868194263
Number of pages: 93
Publisher: Currency Press
Book Reviews of Bad Boy Bubby (Screenplays)
Book Review: Utterly twisted.
Summary: 4 Stars
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. *** ?
Entertainment Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in shadows of the red earth (fit the first)
![Sweetie [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
Sweetie [VHS]Avid Home Ent; Release date: 1997-04-22; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.90
Price in other shops:
![Once Were Warriors [VHS] Image](/images/Once-Were-Warriors-VHS-630358490X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Once Were Warriors [VHS]New Line Home Video; Release date: 1997-03-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.85
Price in other shops:
![The Sundowners (Special Edition) [VHS] Image](/images/The-Sundowners-Special-Edition-VHS-0790732033-X.jpg){kind=small}
The Sundowners (Special Edition) [VHS]Warner Home Video; Release date: 1997-09-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.85
Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal AustraliaGeorge Braziller; Published: 1997-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $65.06
Price in other shops:
The Songlinesby Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1988-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
![The Last Wave [VHS] Image](/images/The-Last-Wave-VHS-630197249X-X.jpg){kind=small}
The Last Wave [VHS]Rhino / Wea; Release date: 1994-03-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.19
Price in other shops:
Iwaki conducts TakemitsuRelease date: 1996-01-23; Music CD
Price in other shops:
The Wellby Elizabeth Jolley
Ulverscroft Large Print; Published: 2000-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Price in other shops:
Bad Boy Bubby (Screenplays)by Rolf De Heer
Currency Press; Published: 1996-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.72
Price in other shops:
Picnic at Hanging Rock - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 1998-11-03; DVD
Best price: $19.97
Price in other shops: