Netflix’s new pandemic-inspired comedy is getting slammed by critics

Judd Apatow isn’t having a great week. First he posted a now-deleted and much-mocked tweet claiming that Will Smith “could have killed” Chris Rock by slapping him at the Oscars. Now his new Netflix Original movie The Bubble is getting destroyed by critics.

The comedy sees a group of actors (including Karen Gillen, Pedro Pascal, and Leslie Mann) struggling to film a movie during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film centers on the cast’s frustrations with self-isolation and the strict rules placed on them by the studio. Faced with endless days in front of a green screen, the actors get bored, miserable, and begin to squabble.

The comedy potential is there, but it seems that Apatow (writing, directing, and producing) has botched it. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it sitting at an unimpressive 32%.

Jake Cole at Slant Magazine says it’s “toothless showbiz satire“, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian describes its 126-minute run time as “punishing“, M.N. Miller of Ready Steady Cut says The Bubble is “a mess of tone, themes, shots, and poorly edited jokes that fall flat“, and Dais Johnston of The Inverse said, “This isn’t just a miss for Apatow — it’s his Cats.” Oof.

Initial audience reactions aren’t great either. One user compared it to watching paint dry:

Another said that this was pretty much what they expect from a Netflix original, but says Pedro Pascal and Karen Gillan are fun:

@glasselevatrs even suspects it might be an April fool:

So perhaps one to skip. If you’re brave enough to find out for yourself, The Bubble is now streaming on Netflix. But don’t say you haven’t been warned!