The Beanie Bubble

Available on Apple TV now

The Beanie Bubble continues one of 2023’s most unusual trends by serving up another biopic that is focused on the inner workings of a global corporation, in this case the late, great Ty Inc., whose Beanie Babies range momentarily took the 1990s by storm. Like Air and Tetris before it, the picture attempts to explain commonplace, but no less complicated, marketing staples (in this case ecommerce) via the medium of fast-paced dialogue and larger-than-life lead performances.

With respect to the latter, Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash’s film does deliver, with Zach Galifinakis putting in some of his best work in years as Ty Warner, the brash and egomaniacal face of the Beanie boom. He is underpinned by a stellar support cast that includes Elizabeth Banks and Geraldine Viswanathan, who deliver entertaining turns as two of three women that are scorned by Warner’s histrionics.

Sadly, the same can not be said of Sarah Snook, who is completely wasted in her role as Warner’s long-suffering second wife. After the dreary Run Rabbit Run, it’s a real shame to see the phenomenally talented Snook pick another underwhelming post-Succession role. Nonetheless, her misuse is not the only issue with The Beanie Bubble which, simply put, feels completely unoriginal from begging to last.

Gore’s screenplay brazenly borrows from a litany of other, more entertaining films and is at times predictable enough to make you wonder just how much of its events actually took place in real-life. Dramas of this nature will of course always stretch the truth to some extent, but The Beanie Bubble never really feels convincing, which makes you question whether its story was ever worth telling at all.