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Bad Boy Bubby (1993)

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3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Rolf de Heer's film is pretty much a weirdo. It begins in the sordid flat which 35-year-old Bubby (Hope) shares with his corpulent, incestuously demanding mum; since she insists the outside world is poisoned by gas, the only creatures he knows are the cat he torments and the cockroaches he eats. Then his long-lost dad turns up: jealous that he's been usurped in his mother's affections, Bubby deals with the situation the only way he knows how and, with a mixture of fear and curiosity, leaves the slum. The following adventures are somewhat predictable; but at the same time the world into which the innocent hero is cast has a singular loneliness and desolation. The film's attitude to misfits is admirable, but it's hard not to feel slightly uneasy about the use of real handicapped people in the later scenes. That said, this proficient film is never less than intriguing. It may be muddled, but one can't deny its ambitions, or the integrity of Hope's performance.

Author: GA

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

Stuart said...

Posted on Jun 25 2010 22:11 I'm sorry but I have to take issue with the guy who wrote the astonishingly idiotic original review, specifically the line: '...it's hard not to feel slightly uneasy about the use of real handicapped people in the later scenes.' Why? Does the guy think that handicapped people should be cooped up in homes, never to be seen by the general public? Does he really believe that it would have been better to have had normal people pretending to be disabled? A truly astonishing remark to have made.

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david said...

Posted on Sep 03 2009 16:39 i found this film disturbing but highly watchable. the lead role played by nicholas hope is amazing. you do have to endure some heart rending scenes, but i found myself cheering when things went his way. i love the end. great but gritty film

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futurestar said...

Posted on Jul 17 2009 04:39 More The Man Who Fell To Earth and meeting the Navigators and hitching his ill fated star to any ilk who'll catch his ear. This one turned left at Greenland and headed straight out to nowhere.

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