Soderbergh's high-def experiment paves way for low-budget indie fare

BABY, YOU’RE A STAR: Debbie Doebereiner, who plays Martha, a lonely factory worker, was discovered while working at a KFC drive-thru window.

Every weekend in hundreds, maybe thousands of cities, independent filmmakers are busy and armed with video cameras and computers. In the vast majority of cases, their work will be seen by no more than a handful of people, and the filmmakers will never be able to give up their day jobs to pursue their dream. It's not just a matter of talent the cream doesn't always rise to the top.

Steven Soderbergh obviously misses those days. And until he runs out of numbers for "Oceans" movies, he'll have the money and the clout to return to them whenever he wants.

"Bubble" finds him in an experimental mood, bringing professional expertise to a high-definition video shoot with non-professional actors on the Ohio-West Virginia border. Either Soderbergh is more of a genius than we give him credit for or he's luckier than the hero of "Match Point," because "Bubble" is good enough to compete with the big boys.

A solid screenplay by Coleman Hough is a good starting point, but it's brought to amazing life through the lead actress, Debbie Doebereiner, who in real life manages a KFC franchise in West Virginia.

In "Bubble," she's Martha, a fat, lonely woman who works in a doll factory and cares for her aged father.

Mildly depressed but easygoing, Martha hangs out with Kyle (Dustin James Ashley), a co-worker who's young enough to be her son. In fact, she's probably older than his mother (Laurie Lee), with whom he lives out of economic necessity. There's nothing sexual between them, but Martha feels a certain possessiveness toward Kyle.

That's threatened when the plant, having a big order to fill, hires an extra worker, Rose (Misty Dawn Wilkins), a single mother with a 2-year-old daughter. One Friday night, Martha baby-sits while Rose goes out with Kyle. When Rose comes home, she gets a visit from her baby's father, Jake (Kyle Smith), who angrily accuses her of stealing his money and weed.

As the networks say during sweeps, "One of these people will die tonight."
These unprofessional actors are playing characters who are both very simple and very complicated. "Bubble" floats along for minutes at a time with nothing happening out of the ordinary. Then it will pop with something unexpected, whether it's a murder, a robbery or just an odd turn of phrase.

The reference will be wasted on most, but Debbie Doebereiner is the new Shirley Stoler, although she looks at least as much like Divine in "Hairspray" as Stoler in "The Honeymoon Killers." If she's back frying chicken, it's a waste of a good natural talent.

Her co-stars aren't in the same league Ashley should study diction if he wants to pursue acting but they've given their director the naturalness he was after. (Decker Moody, who plays a police detective, really is a police detective.) It may be too soon to call Soderbergh the American Pasolini but this is a good start.

Oftentimes, the cinematography is so excellent, one suspects the few really clunky shots are intentional to preserve the film's indie cred.

There's no question "Bubble" is a film you should see. But because it's being released simultaneously in theaters and on home video and pay-cable, you have to decide where and how you want to see it. It doesn't have the big stars or special effects that drive many people to theaters especially when they would have to wait three to six months to see a film elsewhere. But it does look good on a big, wide screen, not like some shot-on-video films that blow up all grainy.

Bottom line: If you're standing in line at the multiplex and still haven't made up your mind, "Bubble" is better than most of the films on offer there.

"'BUBBLE' SHAKES UP HOLLYWOOD

"Bubble" is produced by 2929 Entertain-ment, the Dallas- and Los Angeles-based company by owned by Mark Cuban and longtime ally Todd Wagner. On Tuesday, the offbeat film will be available for sale on DVD. "Bubble," hits the big screen at Landmark's Magnolia theater (also owned by Cuban) today. And as of today, the film is also available on HDNet a video-on-demand service also owned by Cuban.

This marketing strategy, known as "day-and-date," clashes with the prevailing method of timed releases. Normally four months separate a film's theatrical debut and its DVD sale ($29.98, Magnolia).

As part of a partnership with 2929, the day-and-date approach for "Bubble" will be duplicated for five more Soderbergh films. Some say Cuban's revolutionary approach will be the death knell for Hollywood and the theater experience. Cuban, who also owns the Dallas Mavericks, compares the approach to the NBA, in which sold-out games are also aired live on television.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition of January 27, 2006.