1996 American film
Bio-Dome
is a 1996 American
comedy film
directed by
Jason Bloom
. It was produced by
Motion Picture Corporation of America
on a budget of $8.5 million and was distributed theatrically by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
The plot of the film revolves around two clumsy, dim-witted
slackers
who, while on a road trip, look for a bathroom in what they believe is a
shopping mall
. The shopping mall turns out to be a "bio-dome", a form of
closed ecological system
, in which five scientists are about to be hermetically sealed for a year. The film has themes of
environmentalism
, combined with
drug use
,
sexual innuendo
, and
toilet humor
.
The film stars
Stephen Baldwin
and
Pauly Shore
, and has
cameo appearances
by celebrities such as
Roger Clinton
and
Patricia Hearst
.
Jack Black
and
Kyle Gass
first came to global attention in
Bio-Dome
, performing together as
Tenacious D
on-screen for the first time.
[3]
The film grossed $13 million at the box office in North America.
Bio-Dome
was panned by critics, gaining a record low score of 1/100 on Metacritic. It is often considered to be
one of the worst films ever made
.
In 2013, Stephen Baldwin said he was in talks with Pauly Shore about making a sequel to the film revolving around the children of Bud and Doyle, their characters.
Plot
[
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]
Best friends Bud "Squirrel" Macintosh and Doyle "Stubs" Johnson live together in
Arizona
, but their
environmentalist
girlfriends, Jen and Monique, dump them due to their immaturity. Driving back home, they pass by the Bio-Dome, where scientist Dr. Noah Faulkner is about to seal his team in for a year without outside contact. Mistaking the Bio-Dome for a mall, Bud and Doyle go inside to use the bathroom, only to be sealed in along with the scientists. Dr. Leaky, the project's investor, discovers them and demands their removal, but Dr. Faulkner refuses, claiming it would destroy the purpose of the experiment, so Bud and Doyle remain. Although things initially go smoothly, this proves to be a mistake, as Bud and Doyle continue their antics, harming themselves and destroying many of the scientists' projects. The scientists plead to Dr. Faulkner, but he only relents after the two find a secret stash of junk food and experiment with
laughing gas
. The two are then banished to the desert environment section and, after three days of isolation, they discover a key in the lock of one of the windows, which opens a back door, and they escape the Bio-Dome.
As Bud and Doyle are receiving a pizza delivery at the dome, they learn Jen and Monique are attending an environmental party with other men, so decide to outdo the party and hold one inside the Bio-Dome to win them back. The party backfires. It throws the experiment into chaos and Jen and Monique disavow the boys. The scientists prepare to exit out of the desert through the door but, realizing their idiotic actions, Bud and Doyle intervene and demand they all stay and restore the dome to full health, arguing that the real world itself is currently not a pristine environment, with Doyle swallowing the key as a last resort. The group subdues the situation and begins to fix the dome together, while the boys and the scientists bond with each other as a team, and Bud and Doyle's efforts in restoring the dome soon draw a large group of fans and supporters, including Monique and Jen. Meanwhile, Dr. Faulkner, who had disappeared the night of the party, has gone insane and is starting plans to blow up the dome with
IEDs
inside of coconuts.
After several months pass and Earth Day approaches, Bud, Doyle, and the team successfully restore the dome, but on the night before the doors reopen, Bud and Doyle discover Dr. Faulkner, hoping to apologize to him and make amends. He tells the two that he is rigging pyrotechnics for the door-opening ceremony and gets them to help plant the items, unaware they are really bombs. Once Bud and Doyle are left alone with the bombs, they goof off with one of the coconuts, and after a failed long pass, they discover their dangerous nature. They alert the others and try to exit the dome early, but the door cannot be opened until the clock hits zero, when the bombs will detonate. Bud and Doyle run back into the dome to find Dr. Faulkner and get him to deactivate the bombs. After a chase and struggle, they knock him out and use a remote to disable the coconuts.
With the Bio-Dome experiment complete, the team gets ready to exit the now-open door, but as they begin to walk out, Dr. Faulkner returns with one last coconut bomb, trips, and the bomb detonates at the entrance. Bud, Doyle, Jen, and Monique bid farewell to the Bio-Dome scientists and drive off, where Doyle yet again has to use the bathroom and the car is seen driving toward a mysterious
nuclear power plant
. Dr. Faulkner, meanwhile, has escaped the dome through the desert window door, having retrieved the key Doyle swallowed, and flees through the desert pursued by police.
Cast
[
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]
Production
[
edit
]
The film was financed by a loan from
Coutts & Co.
to the Motion Picture Corporation of America.
[4]
Release
[
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]
Bio-Dome
grossed $13.4 million in North America,
[2]
against an estimated production budget of $8.5 million.
[1]
MGM spent $10 million on marketing.
[1]
Reception
[
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]
On
Rotten Tomatoes
, the film has an approval rating of 4% based on reviews from 26 critics. The critical consensus reads: "Like its two obnoxious protagonists, this dreadfully unfunny Pauly Shore vehicle should remain separated from society."
[5]
On
Metacritic
, it has a score of 1 out of 100 based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".
[6]
It is one of eleven films to hold this rating; the other 10 being
10 Rules for Sleeping Around
,
Chaos
,
inAPPropriate Comedy
,
Not Cool
,
The Singing Forest
,
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
,
Death of a Nation
,
Hardbodies
,
Mother's Day
and
United Passions
.
[7]
Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
gave the film a grade B? on scale of A to F.
[8]
Leonard Klady of
Variety
wrote: "It's not by any means inspired madness. Neither the script nor direction lives up to the concept, and the picture evolves into a 'Bio'-degradable hash rather than a zany sendup of potent issues and serious intents gone awry."
[9]
Owen Gleiberman
of
Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a grade F, saying "Even with the low expectations any reasonable viewer brings to a Shore flick, this rates only stupid-plus."
[10]
Stephen Holden
of
The New York Times
called it "inept in almost every respect."
[11]
Travis Clark of
Business Insider
deemed it the "3rd worst movie of all time" according to critical and audience reactions.
[12]
Accolades
[
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]
At the
1996 Golden Raspberry Awards
, Shore co-won a
Razzie Award
for
Worst Actor
for his work in the film, tied with
Tom Arnold
for that actor's performances in
Big Bully
,
Carpool
, and
The Stupids
. At the
1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
, the movie won two of the movies' three nominations: Worst On-Screen Hairstyle for Stephen Baldwin and Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy. Shore was also nominated for Worst Actor, but lost to Tom Arnold for his acting in the same three movies.
[13]
Potential sequel
[
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]
On December 18, 2013, Stephen Baldwin appeared on Mancow Muller's radio/TV show, confirming that he is in talks with Pauly Shore about making a sequel to the film revolving around the children of their characters Bud and Doyle. Baldwin had also stated that he gets recognized more for his role in
Bio-Dome
than any other film he has done thus far. In an interview published in
Variety
on January 17, 2017, he reiterated his desire to make a sequel, saying that Shore was interested and he has funding, but is seeking studio approval.
[14]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Collins, Scott (January 17, 1996).
"Pauly Shore's Oeuvre? Whoa. Cool. For Sure"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
cost about $8.5 million to make, far below the industry average
- ^
a
b
"Bio-Dome (1996) - Financial Information"
.
The Numbers
. Retrieved
May 10,
2020
.
- ^
Rees, Jasper (October 29, 2006).
"Dude where's my guitar"
.
The Times
. London
. Retrieved
April 26,
2010
.
(subscription required)
- ^
"Single-Pic Loans Hear Wedding Bells"
.
Palo Alto Online
. Retrieved
July 21,
2021
.
- ^
"Bio-Dome (1996)"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
February 9,
2023
.
- ^
"Bio-Dome (1996)"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
November 18,
2018
.
- ^
"Movie Releases by Score"
.
Metacritic
. Archived from
the original
on 13 February 2010
. Retrieved
18 June
2015
.
- ^
"BIO DOME (1996) B-"
.
CinemaScore
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-12-20.
- ^
Klady, Leonard
(January 15, 1996).
"Bio-Dome"
.
Variety
.
- ^
"Bio-Dome"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Archived from
the original
on December 2, 2022
. Retrieved
May 10,
2020
.
- ^
Holden, Stephen
(12 January 1996).
"FILM REVIEW;2d Chance for Sitting Ducks"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"The 75 worst movies of all time, according to critics"
.
Business Insider
.
- ^
"Bio-Dome - IMDb"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
2020-04-25
.
- ^
Kelly, Seth (January 17, 2017).
"Stephen Baldwin on Endorsing Trump Early, 'SNL' and Alec's Impersonation"
.
Variety.com
. Retrieved
January 18,
2017
.
Baldwin: 'Variety, help me talk to the studio that helps control the sequel rights to "Bio-Dome" because Pauly [Shore] and I are ready, and I have the money now with my new company. Let "Bio-Dome" two live! Let "Bio-Dome" two live!'
External links
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]
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Bio-Dome
.
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