| Bio-Dome | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jason Bloom |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Rodger Bumpass |
| Cinematography | Phedon Papamichael Jr. |
| Edited by | Christopher Greenbury |
| Music by | Andrew Gross [de] |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Distribution Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $13.4 million[2] |
Bio-Dome is a 1996 Americancomedy film directed byJason Bloom. It was produced byMotion Picture Corporation of America on a budget of $8.5 million and was distributed theatrically byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.
The film was inspired by the real life projectBiosphere 2. The plot revolves around two clumsy, dim-wittedslackers who, while on a road trip, look for a bathroom in what they believe is ashopping mall. The shopping mall turns out to be a "bio-dome", a form ofclosed ecological system, in which five scientists are about to be hermetically sealed for a year. The film has themes ofenvironmentalism, combined withdrug use,sexual innuendo, andtoilet humor.
The film starsStephen Baldwin andPauly Shore, and hascameo appearances by celebrities such asRoger Clinton andPatricia Hearst.Jack Black andKyle Gass first came to global attention inBio-Dome, performing together asTenacious D on-screen for the first time.[3]
The film was financed by a loan fromCoutts & Co. to the Motion Picture Corporation of America.[4] It 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 beone 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.
Best friends Bud "Squirrel" Macintosh and Doyle "Stubs" Johnson live together inArizona, but theirenvironmentalist 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 withlaughing 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 withIEDs 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 mysteriousnuclear 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.
Biosphere 2, which closely resembles the film's "Bio-Dome", opened inOracle, Arizona, in 1991. The first "mission" saw eight scientists sealed inside the facility between 1991 and 1993 as part of an experiment to see how feasibly they could live within aclosed system. Criticism of the experiment said that it was not scientifically valid as it could not be repeated, and that the group, who had originated from theTheater of All Possibilities, were acting along the lines of acult.[5][6]
The scientists themselves staged a comedic play entitledThe Wrong Stuff (a reference toThe Right Stuff) in the days before they were sealed in, depicting an exaggerated parody of what they foresaw could go wrong, and effectively foreshadowing the filming ofBio-Dome before the experiment even began.[7]
Once the scientists were sealed inside, the experiment quickly descended into a fiasco due to "interpersonal conflicts and scientific controversies" including oxygen and food shortages, the controversial use of acarbon dioxide scrubber and arguments among the group that had them barely on speaking terms.[8] Initially positive media coverage quickly turned against Biosphere 2 as one escalating scandal followed another. This was later the subject of the 2020 documentarySpaceship Earth.[9]
The producers ofBio-Dome originally intended to film in the real Biosphere 2, but permission was denied bySteve Bannon who had become involved in managing the facility.[10] "We're not in the movie business", Bannon told the producers, "and we're focused on a very big effort here to turn around and legitimize the science and education program."[11] Instead,Tillman Water Reclamation Plant inVan Nuys, California, was used.[12]
While the film adds the element of two unqualified people finding themselves accidentally sealed in the dome and exaggerates the story for comedic purposes, many elements of the plot - food shortages, a drop in oxygen levels, awealthy benefactor, the grandiose opening ceremony, arguments between the crew and kissing the glass as visitors drop in from outside - are based in fact.[13] The film's director, Jason Bloom, even said he had decided to depict the scientists and the experiment as "much more legitimate and focused on real science" than they were in real life.[11]
Two of the original Biosphere 2 scientists -Jane Poynter andTaber MacCallum - later sawBio-Dome and enjoyed it, saying they "laughed a lot" and always thought a movie would be made about the experience but expected something along the lines ofTotal Recall instead of a comedy. However, Biosphere 2's then-managerWallace Smith Broecker was offended by the film and called it "a step in the wrong direction" as the facility was trying to distance itself from its past and develop a reputation as a legitimate scientific institution.[14]
OnRotten 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."[15] OnMetacritic, it has a score of 1 out of 100 based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[16] It is one of eleven films to hold this rating; the other 10 being10 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 andUnited Passions.[17] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade B− on scale of A to F.[18]
Leonard Klady ofVariety 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."[19]Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment 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."[20]Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times called it "inept in almost every respect".[21] Travis Clark ofBusiness Insider deemed it the "3rd worst movie of all time" according to critical and audience reactions.[22]
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]
At the1996 Golden Raspberry Awards, Shore co-won aRazzie Award forWorst Actor for his work in the film, tied withTom Arnold for that actor's performances inBig Bully,Carpool, andThe Stupids. At the1996 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 those same three movies.[23]
On December 18, 2013, Stephen Baldwin said in an interview withMancow Muller that he was in talks with Pauly Shore about making a sequel to the film revolving around the children of their characters Bud and Doyle. Baldwin further stated that he gets recognized more for his role inBio-Dome than any other film. In a 2017, he reiterated his desire to make a sequel, saying that Shore was interested and he has funding, but is seeking studio approval.[24]
cost about $8.5 million to make, far below the industry average
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!'
