Bio-Dome
Encyclopedia
Bio-Dome is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Jason Bloom
. Bio-Dome was produced by Motion Picture Corporation of America
on a budget of $15 million and was distributed theatrically by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
The plot of the film revolves around two clumsy, dim-witted slacker
s who, whilst on a road trip, look for a toilet stop in what they believe is a shopping mall, which in fact turns out to be a "bio-dome", a form of a closed ecological system
in which five scientists are to be hermetically sealed in for a year. The film has themes of environmentalism
, countered with themes of substance abuse
, sexual innuendo and toilet humour.
The film stars Stephen Baldwin
and Pauly Shore
, and has cameo appearance
s by celebrities such as Kylie Minogue
, Patricia Hearst and Rose McGowan
. Jack Black
and Kyle Gass
, more commonly known today as the band Tenacious D
, first came to global attention in Bio-Dome in which they performed together as Tenacious D on-screen for the first time.
The film grossed $13,427,615 in North America, and also earning something of a reputation as a stoner film, Bio-Dome was universally panned by mainstream critics, some of whom named it as their pick for worst film.
) are best friends and live together in the same house. Their girlfriends, Monique (Joey Lauren Adams
) and Jen (Teresa Hill
) are environmentalists who ask Bud and Doyle to join them at an Earth Day event. The troublemakers, however, are not interested in picking up trash, so they fake an injury to Doyle's head in order to get out of the environmentalist gathering. Although they are sympathetic at first, their girlfriends eventually find out it is a trick and go to the Earth Day event without Bud and Doyle. Once there, they call the boys from a payphone to announce they'll be joining some hot guys from a swim team at a party down by a lake. Jealous, Bud and Doyle drive out to the lake, only to find there is no party, and they have been had.
On the way home, they drive by an area where scientist Dr. Noah Faulkner (William Atherton
) is about to seal his team into the "Bio-Dome" for a year without outside contact. Mistaking it for a mall and going inside to use the bathroom, they get sealed in along with the scientists. Dr. Leaky (Henry Gibson
) discovers them and demands that they be kicked out. Faulkner refuses, claiming it would destroy the purpose of the experiment, so Bud and Doyle end up remaining. This proves a mistake, as Bud and Doyle begin acting like they did outside of the Dome, harming themselves and destroying many of the scientists' projects. The scientists remain silent, but they soon grow tired of the childish behavior and dump the boys into their desert environment section. After three days of being stuck in the desert environment, they discover a key in the lock of one of the windows and escape the Bio-Dome.
To impress their girlfriends with their newfound interest in the environment, Bud and Doyle organize a party at the Bio-Dome, but this only angers their girlfriends, who tell them they're destroying the Dome's experiment. After the party, Bud and Doyle try to make it up to their girlfriends by cleaning up all the trash, saving the Dome's environment, with the help of all the scientists. Faulkner, who has gone mad because of Bud and Doyle's antics, plans to blow up the Dome with homemade coconut bombs. He fails, but does blow open the Dome's door, allowing everyone to exit, considering the fiasco a success. The film ends with Faulkner running off into the desert after climbing out the same window Bud and Doyle used to escape through earlier, while Bud, Doyle, and their girlfriends drive off toward a mysterious factory so Doyle can yet again use the bathroom.
The film was an overwhelming critical failure, universally panned by the mainstream critics. Bio-Dome has a rating of 5% on the ratings aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes
, based on 21 reviews. The film has the distinction of the lowest aggregate score for a film currently included in the database of Metacritic
, a website which aggregates film reviews. As of October 2010, its score of 1 (indicating "Overwhelming dislike") is tied with the 2003 film The Singing Forest and the 2005 film Chaos; however, this score is based on only ten critical reviews (The Singing Forests score is based on seven reviews, while Chaoss score is based on ten as well).
At the 1996 Golden Raspberry Awards
, Pauly Shore won a Razzie Award
for Worst Actor for his work in the film. He did not win the award outright, tying with Tom Arnold
for that actor's performances in Big Bully
, Carpool
and The Stupids
.
Jason Bloom (director)
Jason Bloom is a American film and television director whose films include Bio-Dome starring Pauly Shore and Overnight Delivery starring Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon. He also directed Viva Las Nowhere with James Caan and Daniel Stern and Irving with James Belushi...
. Bio-Dome was produced by Motion Picture Corporation of America
Motion Picture Corporation of America
Motion Picture Corporation of America is an American film production company founded by Brad Krevoy in 1986 to focus on producing, acquiring, and distributing commercial motion picture and television productions.-History:...
on a budget of $15 million and was distributed theatrically by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
The plot of the film revolves around two clumsy, dim-witted slacker
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
s who, whilst on a road trip, look for a toilet stop in what they believe is a shopping mall, which in fact turns out to be a "bio-dome", a form of a closed ecological system
Closed ecological system
Closed ecological systems are ecosystems that do not rely on matter exchange with any part outside the system.The term is most often used to describe small manmade ecosystems...
in which five scientists are to be hermetically sealed in for a year. The film has themes of environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, countered with themes of substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
, sexual innuendo and toilet humour.
The film stars Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
and Pauly Shore
Pauly Shore
Paul Montgomery "Pauly" Shore is an American comedian and actor who starred in several comedy films in the 1990s and hosted a video show on MTV in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, and has cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s by celebrities such as Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, Patricia Hearst and Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
. Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
and Kyle Gass
Kyle Gass
Kyle Richard Gass , also known as KG or Kage, is an American rock musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He is a member of the bands Tenacious D and Trainwreck. In Tenacious D , Gass plays lead guitar and sings backup vocals, and also plays the role of Black's comic foil in most of their comedy...
, more commonly known today as the band Tenacious D
Tenacious D
Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny...
, first came to global attention in Bio-Dome in which they performed together as Tenacious D on-screen for the first time.
The film grossed $13,427,615 in North America, and also earning something of a reputation as a stoner film, Bio-Dome was universally panned by mainstream critics, some of whom named it as their pick for worst film.
Plot
Bud "Squirrel" Macintosh (Pauly Shore) and Doyle "Stubs" Johnson (Stephen BaldwinStephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
) are best friends and live together in the same house. Their girlfriends, Monique (Joey Lauren Adams
Joey Lauren Adams
Joey Lauren Adams is an American actress who has appeared in more than thirty films. She is known for her distinctive, raspy voice and for her roles in View Askewniverse films, particularly Mallrats and Chasing Amy, with the latter giving her a Golden Globe for Best Actress nomination.-Career:She...
) and Jen (Teresa Hill
Teresa Hill
Teresa Hill is an American actress and interior designer.She played Nemesis in the 1995-1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.-External links:* * *...
) are environmentalists who ask Bud and Doyle to join them at an Earth Day event. The troublemakers, however, are not interested in picking up trash, so they fake an injury to Doyle's head in order to get out of the environmentalist gathering. Although they are sympathetic at first, their girlfriends eventually find out it is a trick and go to the Earth Day event without Bud and Doyle. Once there, they call the boys from a payphone to announce they'll be joining some hot guys from a swim team at a party down by a lake. Jealous, Bud and Doyle drive out to the lake, only to find there is no party, and they have been had.
On the way home, they drive by an area where scientist Dr. Noah Faulkner (William Atherton
William Atherton
William Atherton , born William Atherton Knight II, is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Roby and Robert Atherton Knight...
) is about to seal his team into the "Bio-Dome" for a year without outside contact. Mistaking it for a mall and going inside to use the bathroom, they get sealed in along with the scientists. Dr. Leaky (Henry Gibson
Henry Gibson
Henry Gibson was an American actor and songwriter, best known as a cast member of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and for his recurring role as Judge Clark Brown on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
) discovers them and demands that they be kicked out. Faulkner refuses, claiming it would destroy the purpose of the experiment, so Bud and Doyle end up remaining. This proves a mistake, as Bud and Doyle begin acting like they did outside of the Dome, harming themselves and destroying many of the scientists' projects. The scientists remain silent, but they soon grow tired of the childish behavior and dump the boys into their desert environment section. After three days of being stuck in the desert environment, they discover a key in the lock of one of the windows and escape the Bio-Dome.
To impress their girlfriends with their newfound interest in the environment, Bud and Doyle organize a party at the Bio-Dome, but this only angers their girlfriends, who tell them they're destroying the Dome's experiment. After the party, Bud and Doyle try to make it up to their girlfriends by cleaning up all the trash, saving the Dome's environment, with the help of all the scientists. Faulkner, who has gone mad because of Bud and Doyle's antics, plans to blow up the Dome with homemade coconut bombs. He fails, but does blow open the Dome's door, allowing everyone to exit, considering the fiasco a success. The film ends with Faulkner running off into the desert after climbing out the same window Bud and Doyle used to escape through earlier, while Bud, Doyle, and their girlfriends drive off toward a mysterious factory so Doyle can yet again use the bathroom.
Reception
Produced on an estimated budget of $15 million, Bio-Dome grossed $13,427,615 in North America.The film was an overwhelming critical failure, universally panned by the mainstream critics. Bio-Dome has a rating of 5% on the ratings aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 21 reviews. The film has the distinction of the lowest aggregate score for a film currently included in the database of Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, a website which aggregates film reviews. As of October 2010, its score of 1 (indicating "Overwhelming dislike") is tied with the 2003 film The Singing Forest and the 2005 film Chaos; however, this score is based on only ten critical reviews (The Singing Forests score is based on seven reviews, while Chaoss score is based on ten as well).
At the 1996 Golden Raspberry Awards
1996 Golden Raspberry Awards
The 17th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 23, 1997 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to recognise the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1996...
, Pauly Shore won a Razzie Award
Golden Raspberry Awards
A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day...
for Worst Actor for his work in the film. He did not win the award outright, tying with Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold (actor)
Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:...
for that actor's performances in Big Bully
Big Bully (film)
Big Bully is a 1996 comedy-drama film starring Rick Moranis and Tom Arnold. The film was directed by Steve Miner.-Plot:Growing up in Hastings, Minnesota, young David Leary was constantly bullied by Roscoe Bigger , nicknamed "Fang" because of a pointed tooth. David is ecstatic when his parents...
, Carpool
Carpool (film)
Carpool is a 1996 comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring David Paymer and Tom Arnold.-Plot:Workaholic advertising executive of Bauer & Cole, Daniel Miller , has an important business meeting, but finds himself having to drive the neighborhood carpool for his sons, Bucky Miller and...
and The Stupids
The Stupids (film)
The Stupids is a 1996 American comedy/adventure film directed by John Landis. The film is based on The Stupids, characters from a series of books written by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall....
.
In popular culture
- The film is referenced by "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
in his song AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque (song)"Albuquerque" is the last song of "Weird Al" Yankovic's Running with Scissors album. At 11 minutes and 22 seconds, it is the longest song Yankovic has ever released on any of his official studio albums....
as an in-flight movie.