The Beanie Bubble

Directors: Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash Jr.
Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hari Dhillon, Ajay Friese, Sweta Keswani, Kurt Yaeger, Madison Johnson, Delaney Quinn
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: R

★★½ (out of ★★★★) 

Having already seen 2023 biopics detailing the creations of massively popular sneakers, video games, smart phones and specialty flavored snack chips, it should come as no surprise we're getting more. The Beanie Bubble could be viewed as the toughest sell of the bunch, even for those who fondly remember the brief Beanie Babies phenomenon of the mid 90's. Anyone not around for this consumer fad would probably still recognize these stuffed animals sitting on thrift store shelves today, unmistakably tagged with Ty Inc.'s ubiquitous heart-shaped logo. But as captivated as directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash's are by this, it's cruelly ironic how few are aware the "Ty" on that label refers to an actual person, company founder Ty Warner. 

That Warner himself has been largely forgotten by the public might be the most fitting punishment possible for someone who always craved the spotlight, at least according to this account. Heavily emphasizing his shortfalls as a human being and business leader, the script anchors his story around the women he backstabbed on his way to the top. Flamboyant and eccentric, the billionaire clearly had issues sharing or giving credit, fancying himself solely responsible for every facet of his success. With a script full of tropes that cover familiar territory, the film's straddling of two time periods and three intersecting stories does make for an occasionally fun, if flawed ride.

In tracking the rise and fall of toy manufacturer Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) and the women essential to his triumphs, the film starts in 1983, where broke Arkansas native Robbie (Elizabeth Banks) struggles to make ends meet as an auto mechanic while caring for disabled husband Billy (Kurt Yaeger). But her friendship with odd neighbor Ty changes all that, as the two bond over his idea of a new "understuffed" line of animal toys. Robbie joins him in launching their own company, providing valuable insight that helps rapidly expand the business over the next decade. 

Flash forward to 1996 and Ty Inc. becomes a juggernaut, thanks in no small part to his loyal, hard working assistant Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan), who introduces Ty to the internet despite his initial resistance. Around the same time, he starts dating single mom Sheila (Sarah Snook), but as she and her young daughters (Madison Johnson and Delaney Quinn) are drawn in by Ty's happy-go-lucky attitude, they'll soon get glimpses of his insecure, uglier side. Seeking to control everything and everyone, he proves to be less than the sum of his parts, ignorantly marching forward, unaware this giant bubble is about to burst.

For a film lacking a particularly distinctive style, it at least opens with an arresting scene, as a Ty delivery truck crashes, spilling boxes of stuffed animals onto the highway that are frantically snatched up by rabid passerbys. An obvious metaphor for the re-selling boom, the movie not only benefits from moments like those, but the beardless, unrecognizable Galifianakis' entertainingly bizarre turn, which grants Ty a complexity the screenplay rarely explores. It's especially true in the latter half when the character makes an abrupt turn that stems from what's implied to be a troubled, loveless childhood.

Since this frequently jumps back and forth between decades, Ty's transformation from fun loving goof into Elon Musk can't help but seem like an overnight occurrence. There's some background about his mentally ill mother, but given the primary plot revolves around him gaslighting the opposite sex, it's still unclear whether he specifically has problems with strong women, women in general, or maybe just people. Mainly, Ty comes off as a weird guy unhappy with himself, so credit should go to Galifianakis for overcoming the creative obstacles to play him exactly as that. 

Using Zac Bissonnette's 2015 book as their blueprint, the writers deliver one of the broader depictions of a greedy CEO, with Ty deteriorating into full blown parody by the time we reach the final act. From enterprising optimist to someone you wouldn't believe can find the bathroom on his own, he gets a lot of help from the women whose ideas and accomplishments he's more than happy to take credit for. Whether it's "lifting" Robbie up as their professional partnership evolves into an extra-marital affair, or unexpectedly sweeping the skeptical Sheila off her feet, Ty's constantly working some kind of angle. 

The most intriguing dynamic exists with whip smart assistant Maya, who forgoes her education and family's wishes she become a doctor to work for this supposed innovator. Watching her gently steer the clueless, egotistical Ty toward the online marketing possibilities of ebay is a real treat, especially knowing it's a concept he'll never grasp. Viswanathan's levelheaded performance as Maya sells this, her wide-eyed idealism quickly turning to exhaustive despair upon realizing she works for the boss from hell. Banks and Snook also impress, with the latter bringing grounded humanity to a fairly predictable arc. Her Sheila emerges as the more sympathetic of the two, if only because the character's connection with Ty is so personal, making his betrayal sting that much more.

Watchable as it is, this does play like a shallower version of everything Air and BlackBerry did better, glazing over beats and events without really digging into the psychology of its characters. For a while it works, but then just keeps going, to the point that you'd think it was originally conceived as an Apple streaming series. At just under two hours, it feels strangely longer, held together by the performances and a hope there's enough nostalgia left to carry its story over the finish line.