Bob Trevino Likes It, 2025.
Written and Directed by Tracie Laymon.
Starring Barbie Ferreira, John Leguizamo, French Stewart, Lauren ‘Lolo’ Spencer, Rachel Bay Jones, Debra Stipe, Ted Welch, and Ashlyn Moore.
SYNOPSIS:
When lonely 20-something Lily Trevino accidentally befriends a stranger online who shares the same name as her own self-centered father, encouragement and support from this new Bob Trevino could change her life.
During a much-needed counseling session, 25-year-old Lily Trevino peruses one of the self-help pamphlets, openly laughing at the concept of self-abandonment. It’s a terrific early bit in writer/director Tracie Laymon’s sweet, moving, original, unlikely friendship drama. Bob Trevino Likes It for two reasons: it showcases that star Barbie Ferreira can deftly navigate the tricky nature of playing her non-existent self-care for a laugh. It also amusingly drives home how much she puts others above herself while being treated like a doormat without showing a backbone and standing up for herself. Admittedly, in the opening scene, she thinks about it upon receiving an oopsie text message from her boyfriend outing himself as cheating on her; she types and deletes multiple hurt texts affirming that their relationship is over without pressing send. Instead, she laughs it off, although she breaks up with him offscreen within the next day.
Surely, Lily’s relationship with her father Bob (French Stewart) must be better. Think again. In another tightrope performance, this one balancing dimwit behavior with some grounded, authentic manipulative narcissism, Bob sees his daughter as less of a human being and more of an object to use for personal gain, whether it be to help him out financially, tag a long for a date to help him give a good impression to one of the many women he is simultaneously dating (shadly weighing his options and playing the field), or casually and horrifically instill a reminder in her that not only is she the reason her mother drug addicted mother left them, but that she would have never been born if he didn’t forgive her alarming behavior the first time.
Navigating more landmines, this is played successfully for awkward laughs with the sad reality underneath that Lily doesn’t necessarily have anyone else to talk to. Meanwhile, Bob doesn’t hesitate to cut off all contact the minute she makes an unforgivable mistake inconveniencing his dating life. Even Lily’s job as a live-in aide for similarly-aged Daphne (Lauren ‘Lolo’ Spencer) could be seen as an extension of her personal problems in that it requires her to look after someone other than herself. It’s a noble job, and anyone deserves respect for taking such a position. Still, in Lily’s case, it’s another complicated wrinkle in this entire dynamic, especially since she is a bit too distracted to notice that Daphne does show concern about her life and wants to let this grow into a real friendship.
Once Lily’s day is done there, she retreats to her living space where, emotionally battered and prepared to apologize to her father because her mind doesn’t see anything wrong with his behavior and she is desperate to have someone in her life, she does a quick search on Facebook and finds several individuals named Bob Trevino. One doesn’t have a set profile picture, so she takes a blind chance that it’s him and sends a simple “hello”. However, this is not her father; it is a construction site overseer played by John Leguizamo (delivering outstandingly tender and rich father figure performance) who responds.
After initial back-and-forth establishing that Bob is not her father and likely isn’t related to Lily, the text messaging gradually evolves into friendship. This is also good for Bob, who is married but struggles to stay socially active, unlike his peers and coworkers. Some are probably already scoffing at the idea of a man seeking connection with someone roughly half his age, but this is just that, a wholesome tale of connection and how friendship transcends generations. That’s also not to say Bob’s wife Jeanie (Rachel Bay Jones) instantly approves; she is uncertain and wonders if he is being catfished or about to be used as a credit card for someone. It’s warm, funny, and, most importantly, true to life.
Soon, they meet in person, hang out, and bond over life. If it wasn’t clear from Bob liking every one of Lily’s Facebook posts, where she often scribbles a random quote and finds an old picture attached to an accomplishment that her father likely never made her feel accomplished about, she is getting a father-like serotonin rush from the engagement. She is experiencing what a normal father-daughter relationship is like, which is a foreign concept to her. Naturally, one wonders if Bob ever wanted to be a father.
This also isn’t a film where one has to worry it will misguidedly shy away from the platonic connection or transition into a study of Lily getting unhealthily attached to Bob. This is a primarily conflict-free film about these two characters talking about life (there are some tragic things in Bob’s past he finds difficult to talk to his wife about) and bettering one another. It’s touching every step of the way.
It’s also not suggested that this friendship will solve all of Lily’s problems. Part of that also comes down to not seeing Daphne solely as a job but also as a person who does want to be her friend. As Lily begins opening up to her, that dynamic also becomes more engaging with Daphne trying to balance her weirded out judgment of her caretaker choosing to regularly hang out with a stranger twice her age, while also brainstorming ideas to release some of that rage she must feel upon having something healthy to compare to how toxic her father treats her. This also ties into the film’s more significant theme of self-abandonment and that Lily truly needs balance: to show kindness to others but not empty herself mentally, and to find the room to allow others to treat her kindly in return.
There is at least one predictable third-act element and a tonal transition into heavy emotion, seemingly threatening to undo some of that goodwill for some mawkish clichés. However, even that aspect is done respectfully with a burst of tearjerking creativity. Then, there is one final reveal before the credits that is brilliantly saved; it’s the moment where the heart shatters entirely. Bob Trevino Likes It earns more than the generic “like” reaction; it gets heart and sad-face emojis. Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo have impeccable chemistry, eliciting laughter and smiles through a profoundly touching friendship.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
