Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sexual situations, language in sly post-apocalyptic comedy.
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Biosphere
What's the Story?
BIOSPHERE takes place sometime in the not-too-distant future. The world has been destroyed by some unnamed disaster, which possibly caused by former U.S. President Billy (Mark Duplass). Now Billy and his lifelong best friend, scientist Ray (Sterling K. Brown), are the last known survivors, living in a biosphere designed and built by Ray. They spend their days jogging, reading, playing video games, and growing food. The biosphere's delicate ecosystem is based around a fish pond, and when their only female fish dies, things start to look bleak. But one day, in an example of emergency spontaneous evolution, one of the remaining fish's reproductive organs start changing from male to female, providing the fish -- and the men -- a new lease on life. Then Billy starts exhibiting changes of his own.
Is It Any Good?
This extremely quirky, surprisingly funny post-apocalyptic tale slyly addresses issues of gender and procreation without heavy-handedness or judgment -- and with plenty of jovial camaraderie. Written by Duplass and Mel Eslyn and directed by Eslyn (making her feature directing debut after serving as a producer on the Duplass movie The One I Love), Biosphere playfully avoids letting viewers in on exactly what happened, why Billy and Ray are here, and what the small green light in the dark sky actually is. Biosphere is the rare movie that allows viewers to use a little of their own imagination.
The interactions between the two characters are loose and silly, kicking things off with an in-depth discussion of the Super Mario Bros. games. Billy doesn't like the books that Ray has chosen for the biosphere's shelves (they're too intelligent; he prefers "beach reads") and sometimes doesn't understand some of Ray's more eloquent vocabulary. But they also call each other "dude" and have towel fights after a run. So when it comes time to discuss the more important issues at hand (specifically, the changes happening to Billy's body and what to do about them), we're right there with them. The movie's themes are current and progressive, and they could have been handled badly, or in way that made viewers feel squirmy or uncomfortable. But instead Biosphere strikes just the right tone.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Biosphere take on ideas related to sex and gender. What ideas or values are suggested or discussed?
How is teamwork demonstrated? In what ways do the characters help each other out?
What do you suppose happened to the world? Why do you think the movie doesn't reveal it?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 7, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : September 19, 2023
- Cast : Sterling K. Brown , Mark Duplass
- Director : Mel Eslyn
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Latino Movie Director(s) , Black Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s) , Latino Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : IFC Films
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Friendship
- Character Strengths : Communication , Teamwork
- Run time : 106 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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