By Robert Scucci
| Published
I thought I saw everything I ever needed to see in the form of post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies because at this point in time it’s all been done before. That is, until I stumbled upon 2022’s Biosphere – a film about the last two men on Earth who can only rely on each other, and the structural integrity of the titular compound they find themselves occupying as they live out the end of days. Setting itself apart from its contemporaries by fearlessly leaning into its own absurdity, Biosphere is a little bit speculative fiction, a little bit buddy comedy, and 100 percent off-the-wall in its delivery that will make you laugh at the most inappropriate moments without ever thinking twice.
Dudes Will Be Dudes … Sorta
Though we don’t know what year Biosphere is set, it places focus on its two primary (and only) characters, former United States President, Billy (Mark Duplass), and his childhood friend and former advisor, Ray (Sterling K. Brown), who just so happens to be an accomplished scientist. Living in solitude for an indeterminate amount of time after experiencing what they believe to have been an extinction-level event, Billy and Ray spend their days tending to their fishpond, exercising, and playing Super Mario Bros. Though this dynamic duo remains hopeful about the prospect of one day being able to leave the biosphere and rebuild society, the wind is quickly taken out of their sails when the last female fish in their pond dies, meaning their food supply is about to run out.
To Ray’s shock and amazement, one of the two remaining male fish becomes a female fish after undergoing sequential hermaphroditism, which Ray posits is nature’s way of “finding a way.” Constantly alluding to a logic-defying experience involving a bowling ball and a birthday party magician he witnessed when he was a child, Ray, the scientific man that he is, loves the challenge that’s presented: trying to explain the impossible.
Biosphere gives Ray and Billy more than they bargained for, because like the fish, Billy starts to transform into a female as well. Having been isolated for so long, and running with the assumption that they may be the only surviving humans left on Earth, Ray becomes obsessed with a mysterious green light glowing outside of the biosphere, and tries to collect data to determine whether the two phenomena are related in any way.
Meanwhile, Billy sprouts breasts, begins to menstruate, and his pheromones are clearly hard at work, as Ray becomes physically attracted to him despite his conflicting feelings on the entire situation.
To Mate, Or Not To Mate?
While Biosphere doesn’t necessarily have a human or alien antagonist that feels like an imminent threat at any point in time, Mother Nature’s mysterious ways cause enough conflict as Billy and Ray decide to mate as a means to begin repopulating Earth. Catching feelings for each other after separating for a while to weigh out their options in this buddy comedy, they’re successful in conceiving a child, but don’t have much time to figure out their next steps, as a natural disaster damages their compound, once again limiting their food supply.
What makes Biosphere work is the level of curiosity that both Billy and Ray possess, and how their attitudes toward “the impossible” shift from optimistic to bleak at the drop of a hat. Given the two friends’ history, and their unique situation, it’s fortunate for them that at any given time one of them remains optimistic while the other begins to spiral in their effort to make sense of the world that they’re currently living in.
Never afraid to show its sense of humor as two bros decide to do what’s best for humanity by copulating for the sake of science, Biosphere will leave you in stitches because even though the world as we know it is in a sake of turmoil, all you care about is whether their friendship will survive their efforts to procreate from the comfort of their own compound.
As of this writing, you can stream Biosphere on Hulu.
