Bad Boy Bubby

Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer spent more than a decade, off and on, working to bring Bad Boy Bubby, which he wrote, directed, and co-produced, to the screen. Whether it was worth the effort is a matter of taste, but whatever one's opinion of this bizarre 1993 film, it's unlikely to be neutral. Bubby (a no-holds-barred performance by Nicholas Hope) is the classic feral child—except he's in his mid-30s, having spent his entire life confined in a squalid, lightless hovel by his mother, an utterly repugnant piece of work who leaves him alone by day (she dons a gas mask whenever she leaves so that Bubby will believe the air outside is poisonous), then comes home to make incestuous “love” to him at night. Not surprisingly, Bubby has turned into a demented, cat-torturing sociopath who's obsessed with large female breasts; and when his wayward father suddenly appears, the ensuing chaos results in Bubby's escape into the mean streets of Adelaide, where he joins a rock band, lands in jail, and has various other misadventures (many caused by his ability to expertly mimic others). Some viewers will be delighted by the shock value and parade of incongruous and unsettling images; others will find the film overly episodic, vile, and, worst of all, not terribly entertaining. Blu-ray extras include interviews with Hope and de Heer, as well as the short film “Confessor Caressor,” starring Hope. Optional. (S. Graham)