I’m sorry if I offend anyone by saying this, but this movie is one of the most hilarious things I have seen in probably my whole life. My father is a quadriplegic- I come from a family in which life-altering health issues are something one has to deal with, and even learn to laugh about.
I had heard about ‘The Boy in the Plastic Bubble’ a few years ago, and was really interested in tracking down a copy. One night in my then-boyfriend’s living room, I found a VHS copy lying around, and I couldn’t resist.
As it was a TV movie, the film is very much in the style of the ABC After School Specials of the time – highly melodramatic, ridiculously over the top, and heavily sprinkled with saccharine, and that’s what makes it so great. This has the stamp of Randal Kleiser- the man behind ‘Grease’ and the so-bad-it’s-good ‘The Blue Lagoon’- all over it. The casting of a baby-faced John Travolta in the lead role, and its inspiration for a classic ‘Seinfeld’ episode nearly 20 years later only serve to further enhance the hilarity. In my opinion, this film is a camp classic. If you’re into the weird, the kitschy, and the unintentionally humorous side of film, I highly recommend this.