‘The Beanie Bubble’ Review – An Engaging Exploration Of An Odd Slice Of American History

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

The ‘90s were a weird time. For anyone born post-2000, it’s hard to quite describe it. There was excitement in the air, with huge leaps in technology, such as the advent of the Internet, the founding of Amazon, hell, even the first text messages. Yet, with the rise of all this amazing new technology, it was a simple plush toy known as Beanie Babies that dominated the collector’s market for a short time. The Beanie Bubble gives a glimpse inside the story of three women who were not just important to the success of Beanie Babies, they were vital. Meanwhile, they must contend with Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis), the self-appointed head of the company.

The Beanie Bubble just might be the most delightful surprise of 2023. The bio-picture genre is here to stay and can tend to be very formulaic. This is why it is so exciting that directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash do an excellent job at refreshing the format, whilst also framing the film not from Ty’s perspective but from the perspective of the women in his life. This works extremely well and gives insight into not only important moments in the Beanie craze but the inner workings of Warner himself. It’s only when these three women enter his life that he can climb the ladder of success.

Yet, instead of rewarding these very talented women, he uses them and moves on. Ty is presented as basically a man child who, by the good luck of inheriting valuable antiques, was able to start a toy company. It certainly speaks to a culture that ignored the women and only focused on the figurehead, often a man. Each story is told in an engaging way that allows us to not only get to know these important women but how Warner exploited them and then tried to cast them aside when he was done with them. And, since these women are not pushovers, they ultimately get the last laugh. In every arena, they can get out from under his thumb and wield their own power in the end.

From a technical standpoint, the film is beautifully shot, with dynamic camerawork and well thought out shot compositions. The worldbuilding is rich thanks to top notch production designs and costumes. It is a blast seeing the ‘90s fashions executed in a realistic way.

Hollywood has of late been in this this weird phase of being really into movies about corporate America. More specifically, its about reenforcing this age-old “American dream” type narrative. We’ve seen it with recent films like Air, Tetris and Blackberry. Despite this being more of the same, what makes this film still enjoyable is that it has a charm and engagement factor. Sure, that is thanks in part to how well it was made, but it is also nostalgic for people of a certain age, too. While The Beanie Bubble might be surface level about the under-stuffed, plush craze, the movie is more about toxic work-culture, the rise of e-commerce and the insane time when a stuffed toy became an investment that went poof thanks to mismanagement and greed.

It also manages to bring some politics of the time to the table. This isn’t a shocker since Kristen Gore is the daughter of former Vice President Al Gore. Thankfully, this element is nicely woven into the narrative. The other element is of course the cast. Elizabeth Banks dazzles in a rag to riches story and really meshes well with the powerhouse cast. Banks is a force to reckon with, and she never gets lost in the sauce of the big personalities. Speaking of which, Zach Galifianakis really shines as Ty Warner. Galifianakis really stretches his range, and it’s great when comedians can delve into meaty drama without losing the comedic charm. This is important when you need someone like Ty to ooze charisma to allow them to dupe so many people. Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan are also extremely fantastic.

The Beanie Bubble might be more of the same, yet the devil’s in the details, and we get an engaging and charming glimpse into a very weird time in American commerce history.

The Beanie Bubble is currently playing in select theaters. The film will debut on AppleTV+ on July 28, 2023. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV32siOI9mU]