Bob Trevino Likes It, and so will you
Bob Trevino Likes It is the first movie I’ve seen this year to make my 2025 Top 10 Films contender list, and no matter what else comes out this year, I’m going to reserve a spot for this exceptional picture. After garnering a slew of film festival nominations and awards, including winning both the Grand Jury prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at last year’s SXSW Festival, Bob Trevino Likes It is now showing in theaters. You shouldn’t miss it.
The debut feature from Austin-based writer/director Tracie Laymon, the film is loosely based on an actual experience Laymon had connecting with a stranger with her same last name while searching for her estranged father online. Laymon has taken that simple connection and turned it into a beautifully told and emotionally rich comedy/drama that will have you laughing and crying as we witness just how much small acts of kindness can change our lives for the better.
After Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira, Euphoria) has a fight with her needy and emotionally abusive father Bob (French Stewart), she searches for him on Facebook when he ignores her calls, friending a “Bob Trevino” with no picture. When this Bob (John Leguizamo) immediately likes Lily’s next post, the two start exchanging messages. What follows is a story that in lesser hands could have been a saccharine tale of cliched found family, but in Laymon’s smart, sharp script becomes a surprisingly honest and empathetic look at how a willingness to be open to and trusting of others can be not just rewarding, but healing.
“We’re all a little broken inside,” a character says, and that’s the case for Lily and her new friend Bob. Each has suffered losses and heartache, and as the two bond and connect, both are able to move through their past traumas to a better understanding of themselves and those close to them. But the beauty and skill of Laymon’s film is that right when you think you know where it’s heading, it does something completely unexpected that’s startling not only for its surprise, but for its truth.
Leguizamo and Ferreira are terrific together, and you’ll savor every moment they’re on screen, whether Bob is helping Lily fix a broken toilet or they’re spending an evening stargazing. And as Bob’s wife Jeanie, Rachel Bay Jones creates a nuanced character who is much more complex than we initially assume when we first meet her. Ferreira and Jones share a scene near the film’s end that should earn each of them a few acting nominations, assuming enough people see this remarkable indie. So go see it, and spread the word.
Life is hard, this film tells us, and we never know what private battles someone is fighting. But extending even the tiniest bit of human kindness has the potential to make a difference not just for a day, but also, quite possibly, for a life. Laymon’s characters learn that lesson, and maybe by watching this film, we’ll remember that, too.
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Bob Trevino Likes It is now playing in theaters, including at the AMC Kabuki and the Landmark Opera Plaza in San Francisco, the Cinemark Century in Walnut Creek, and the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.
