Written & Directed by Tracie Laymon
Small films don’t always get the limelight, and often for good reason. Smaller budgets, smaller scope, less famous actors, etc. But they are the backbone of an industry that requires creative spaces for artists to test and build their craft, and to flex their creative muscles. Cinema is first and foremost an art form, designed to tell stories and be an artistic reflection of the world around us. Corporations don’t always agree with that, which is why the movies that dominate the box office and major studio slates are often dull retreads of big stories that are meant to make money and entertain, and usually in that order. I like a big dumb movie as much as the next person, but I also like to champion the little engines that could because I know how important they are to the industry, but also how important they can be to the viewer. These smaller films often pack a major punch, like Bob Trevino Likes It does.
Lily Trevino(Barbie Ferreira) is a lonely twenty-something with little going on. She works as a sort of companion nurse/roommate to a wheelchair bound woman (Lauren Spencer), but otherwise has no money and no family. Well, expect her completely selfish and jerk of a dad, Bob (French Stewart). Seeking a better connection to her father, Lily befriends a pictureless Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) on Facebook, which leads to a surprising and budding friendship that neither Lily nor Bob could have expected. At first they exchange nice messages, with Bob liking Lily’s posts, but it soon blossoms into a real life friendship, with Lily finding the father figure she always lacked, and Bob finding a friend and daughter figure he has lacked since losing his son at a young age.
There are elements of Bob Trevino Likes It that might stretch the definition of reality. In today’s modern world, making a friend on the internet and it turning out to be a nice, friendly, mostly normal person you can make a real bond with is slim to none, but in some ways that’s what makes this film so special. It’s not a movie about the wonders of connection thanks to the internet, that is merely the vehicle writer/director Tracie Laymon uses to tell the story of how we all need someone in our lives, at least one person who shows us love and care. It’s about building a nicer world, starting with one person at a time. And as cliche as that sounds, and this movie is cliche sometimes, Laymon manages to infuse such genuine feeling into the story that I buy it, hook, line and sinker, all the way through.
The real strength of the movie is in it’s lead performances. Barbie Ferreira, in the face of all the horrible things in Lily’s life, brings a vitality and joy to the role that is infectious and buoys the movie in a way that it needs. If she wasn’t as effervescent, it would become too depressing to see her situation with no joy. But she also brings the dramatic beats, crying and making us feel with the best of them. I was not familiar with her before this movie, but she is fantastic! While the story is told from Lily’s perspective, and she is definitively the true lead of the film, but John Leguizamo’s supporting performance is so true and genuine that it transcends the label of supporting. Always a professional actor, Leguizamo gets the opportunity to shine in a such a quiet, reserved and caring performance. These two performances are everything.
It’s only March, so the chance that Bob Trevino Likes It makes much of an impact now or by year-end when the best films and performances of the year are being discussed is pretty low. It’s likely a movie that will end up underseen, overlooked, and underappreciated, and that’s a shame. I hope that it finds a life on streaming services, which in this case with be Hulu given Roadside Attractions deal with the streamer. It might not be for everyone, if you’re not able to overlook some of the small movie tropes (pretty much all of the other performances outside Ferreira and Leguizamo are poor), there is a lot to like in a movie like Bob Trevino Likes It. I wish more people could see it, I wish more people would keep an open mind with it. I wish more people felt the impact of the emotions of the film, and end up in a pool of tears at the end, just like me.
Corndog Chats 