"The Bubble" Review

COVID is running rampant across the world, but God-damn it the makers of the "Cliff Beasts" series are going to make their 6th movie, virus or no virus. Carol Cobb (Karen Gillan, an actor I'm always happy to see get more work) is reluctant to return to the franchise after the bad blood between her and the cast over skipping the 4th film, but does so to save her career. Reuniting with Lauren Van Chance (Leslie Mann), who hates her; Dustin Mulray (David Duchovny); who is devoted to the films which made his career; Sean Knox (Keegan Michael-Key), the action movie star who's starting to lose his mind; and Howie Frangopolous (Guz Khan), the comic relief in the series, who's huge in Pakistan: she is thrust into a truly hellish production cycle under put-upon producer Gavin (Peter Serafinowicz) and arthouse director Darren Eigan (Fred Armisen), alongside series newcomers Deiter Bravo (Pedro Pascal), a perpetually horny actor with a career as serious as his drug problem, and Krystal Kris (Iris Apatow), a Tik Tok Queen who is making her movie debut...

Alright, the movie is very very funny, enough to overcome its faults: it's too long, it meanders a bit, loses focus and seems to drift a little in regards to what it's trying to say or who it's about. But the ensemble are genuinely great, and it's having fun and getting enough zingers and one-liners to keep it afloat. It's broad in its comedy (stoner jokes, vomit gags, some witty back and forth, something for everyone really) but I was laughing enough throughout to put up with the more awkward moments. Stealing the show personally was Deiter, Pedro Pascal was absolutely relishing the part and having the time of his life (including a very funny sequence where he drug trips a dominatrix mirror, with a celebrity cameo). But all of the characters get their moment to shine. They're fun characters, and even when the movie veers into ludicrousness, it manages to stumble through okay. If you like Apatow's style of comedy, you will enjoy this.
The cameos and supporting parts of the film are great too: Nick from "Britannick" has landed on his feet, which I am more than happy about, Rob Delaney is always welcome, and Maria Bakalova is fucking wonderful and needs more work.