Cuddly And Colourful —Review Of The Beanie Bubble (2023)
There are some histories we may never know of until the movie industry plays them out in a film. From the title, I wondered what a "beanie bubble" was and the film poster did not give a clue until I watched the film. Sorry, I didn't grow up with these toys and they aren't common in my country. More so, this film features one of my favourite actresses, Elizabeth Banks! I'll always watch any movie this brilliant and iconic woman appears in.
After seeing Air (2023) and how Michael Jordan rose to stardom a few months back, I realise the film industry wants to spend some time exploring the stories behind big businesses that gained popularity around the 80s and 90s. This is not a bad idea if it's to shine the light on their successes and failures and not fictionalise it like this film.
The Beanie Bubble (2023) is a drama that tells the fictionalised story behind the start of the stuffed toy business, Beanie Babies, and how it rose to popularity. The opening scene reveals Robbie (played by Elizabeth Banks) walking home from work when she sees an ambulance parked in front of her house. She rushes towards it, thinking it was her disabled husband. It was her neighbour, Ty Warner's (played by Zach Galifianakis) father, being wheeled into the vehicle.
Robbie and Ty become close and together, they start the stuffed toy company. The business grows and they make millions but Robbie discovers Ty is cheating on her. Due to differences in expanding the business to the United Kingdom, Robbie quits just as a young undergraduate, Maya (played by Geraldine Viswanathan) joins the business. Can Ty cope with Robbie's absence from their business?
Review
I enjoyed this film simply because the plot is brilliant. A man (Ty Warner) comes up with an idea to start a company after his father's death and he succeeds with the help of the women in his life until he begins to take them for granted leading to his downfall. Does this scenario sound familiar? It’s hard to discern at the beginning but basically the story revolves around three women who get drawn into Ty Warner's toxic orbit, how they helped him build his business and how he betrayed them.
The storytelling is not bad and the character development is okay but the audience is unable to get the true gist of the film. What message are directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash Jr trying to pass? All I gather from seeing this film is that Ty Warner appears to be misogynistic, a trait often seen in the business world. It's not uncommon to have a partner betray people who work for or with him. I feel with this sort of movie, there should be more.
I enjoyed the performance of the cast. They were outstanding, particularly Elizabeth Banks and Geraldine Viswanathan. They had more screen time maybe because they were the real brains behind the cuddly collectible. They made every scene very real. Due to Ty Warner's misogynistic behaviour, it's a little difficult for me to like Zach Galifianakis but I commend his acting.
I'd often wondered about the genesis of the internet business and The Beanie Bubble answers this question. Ty and his team harnessed the power of the internet in those early days, revealing how it's a major tool for shaping our tastes, appetites and, ultimately, thoughts.
The one thing that would have made this movie spectacular and possibly award-winning is a neat chronology of the early days of the Beanie business and the events that later unfolded, leading to the crash of the stuffed animal empire. Sadly, the chronology is terrible. The jumping back and forth between the past and present was very distracting even though everything was properly resolved at the end. I wish the skipping timeline had been properly arranged and edited to minimise any confusion.
Overall, The Beanie Bubble is a good film worth watching. The cast was great but the screenwriting could have made them impressive. I'll rate it 3.5 stars out of 5.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Other images are screenshots from the movie
Posted using CineTV
Thank you