"And then Pinnochio came out of his plastic bubble, touched the filthy little whore next door, then died. The End." – Mrs Livingstone

One night, the other half asked to watch a film on Sky called “Bubble Boy”. I set it up in his bedroom so he could watch it in bed, and then retreated to my big chair for the night.

“What’s that about then?” I shouted through as I played on my Playstation.

“It’s about a boy who is highly allergic to everything and needs to live in a bubble,” was his rather short reply. “Now let me watch it and shut up.” Such is life in the Pesky household.

“Sounds like one of those god-awful made for TV films starring Sally Field that you always get free with DVD players,” I decided, and carried on playing SSX.

For the next 80 minutes, I kept hearing Ian chuckling away to himself, thinking he was either being very cruel laughing at a heart-rending drama, or that someone somewhere had decided to make a Farrelly brothers style sick comedy about an unfortunate boy.

When it finished, I went in to check he hadn’t turned into a prat, and he explained that it was supposed to be funny. “Farrelly brothers funny?” I asked. “More like Tim Burton,” he explained, “and that Jake Gyllenhaal bloke you fancy was in it as well.”

By this time I was ready to beat him around the head and shoulders for not forcing me to watch it as he usually does with films. I made him tell me more about it so I could make my own decision about whether it was worth watching just for Jake’s gorgeous eyes. It sounded like a kind of strange comedy, based around the physical comedy of a boy in a bubble suit, the farcical comedy of about five different groups of people trying to find him, and some downright stupid bits. I wasn’t really convinced, it sounded like something my Dad (as a big fan of ‘Baby’s Day Out’) would probably enjoy; but when I saw it on eBay for a fiver, I decided to buy it for his birthday, and kill two birds with one stone.

We finally watched it last weekend, 2 months after his birthday, and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by this charming, but fairly bizarre comedy. So, can I convince you to rent it?

***So is it just about a boy in a bubble suit then?***

Basically, yes. A young boy called Jimmy (Jake Gyllanhaal) is born without immunities, and is forced to live his childhood in a huge bubble room his parents have built. His mother educates him, all his meals are passed through the decontaminator, and he lives happily encased inside, but alone, for about 18 years.

His life is changed when new neighbour, Chloe (Marley Shelton), starts coming to visit him every day. Unfortunately, he watches Chloe grow older, and more attached to a brainless hick called Mark (the fabulous Dave Sheridan), until she eventually announces she is going to Niagara Falls to marry him.

Jimmy creates his own portable bubble suit, and ventures out into the world for the first time in an attempt to tell Chloe how he feels about her. On the way he cadges lifts from a bus full of cult members, a Mexican biker and a trainload of circus freaks.

Will he make it there in time? If he does make it, will she listen to him? More importantly, how on earth does that bubble suit stay in one piece until the end?

***Was it any good?***

The whole idea of a portable bubble suit could be difficult for some pedants to swallow. However, if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to believe that Jimmy could indeed build a germ-proof, breathable, seemingly indestructible bubble suit, then it’s a much easier film to enjoy.

The comedy timing of Jimmy’s parents (Swoosie Kurtz and John Carroll Lynch) is impeccable, and the section where he grows up inside the bubble is by far the funniest bit; it comprises small amusing snippets of his childhood, which whilst very funny also give the impression of the passage of many lonely years.

The film’s colour has that slightly fifties sheen to it, which did indeed remind me of Tim Burton. In fact, the whole film has more than a touch of the Edward Scissorhands about it; a loveable misfit, who charms the whole community, and is unable to touch the woman he loves.

The people chasing him to Niagara Falls did get slightly farcical, but it fitted in with the old-fashioned styling to the film, as it reminded me of great seventies comedies such as ‘What’s Up Doc?’

I found the ending so unexpected and heart-warming, that it would have been impossible not to fall in love with this film (and a little bit in love with Jimmy, but don’t tell the husband that).

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***Where have I seen them before?***

Bubble Boy has a great ensemble cast of famous faces – I had to go and look on www.IMDB.co.uk to see where I’d seen them before, so here for your benefit is what I found.

Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko, The Good Girl
Swoosie Kurtz - The World According to Garp, Reality Bites, Liar Liar, Cruel Intentions
Marley Shelton - Pleasantville (curiously enough, as I was reminded of this film a lot)
Danny Trejo - Anything requiring a Mexican hardass (e.g. From Dusk Til Dawn, Once Upon a time in Mexico)
John Carroll Lynch - Fargo, Gothika, The Good Girl
Verne Troyer - Austin Powers; The Spy Who Shagged Me (anything else needing someone very short)
Dave Sheridan - Ghost World (and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers videos)
Brian George - Ghost World (plays the owner of the shop Dave Sheridan smashes up)