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Review

A short-film idea interminably stretched to (barely) feature length, Bubble is a half-assed "experiment" from director Soderbergh that fails in both ambition and execution. It tells the story of workers in a small-town doll factory on the West Virginia border, specifically handsome Kyle (Ashley) and dowdy middle-aged Martha (Doebereiner), who have formed a special bond of friendship. When sexy young jailbait Rose (Wilkins) joins the staff, a love triangle of sorts rears its head, and is the possible cause of an ensuing murder. All this, including the police procedural that follows, is filmed flatly...and acted that way as well by the non-professional cast. The end result is a lot like Full Frontal without the starpower. Soderbergh makes the additional mistake of underdirecting his non-actors, who recite the bland, improvised dialogue with even less impact than one would expect. Bubble was somewhat heralded as the first film (albeit shot on video) to be released in theatres and on DVD simultaneously; it will be forgotten just as quickly.

 -- David Gorgos