Social media is mostly (and rightfully) known these days for housing neo-Nazi's and spreading misinformation for monetary gain. Still, sometimes, these tolls can bring people together. Take Bob Trevino Likes It's lead character Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira), who lives an incredibly lonely life. Constantly shrinking herself down to help her distant and cruel father Robert Trevino (French Stewart), Lily's internalized that she's no good at anything. Why even try when, according to her father, she's such a screw-up? After Robert ceases talking to Lily, this 25-year-old seeks out her dad on Facebook.
Here, she stumbles onto the profile of Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo), a totally unrelated man in his 50s who works as a safety inspector. He’s also a homebody whose scrapbook expert wife, Jeanie (Rachel Bay Jones), is constantly urging him to socialize with others. When Lily sends Bob a friend request, the two start talking. It’s a strange friendship that sounds like it should be a recipe for disaster. However, as the pair continue chatting and even begin to meet up in-person, they realize they kind of need each other. The Avenue Q line “everyone goes ‘round a little empty inside” is very true. What’s also true is that none of us are alone while navigating that gnawing emptiness. Those are realities Lily and Bob become keenly aware of as their friendship blossoms.
Lily and Bob’s friendship is the heart of Bob Trevino Likes It. It’s also an element I kept desperately wishing writer/director Tracie Laymon and cinematographer John Rosario would frame in wider shots. Too often, Lily and Bob are framed exclusively in standard medium shots even if they're standing or sitting right next to each other. A scene where Lily recounts a tragic childhood experience with a canine is especially hurt by this visual motif. The camera jumping back-and-forth between Lily and Bob undercuts the rawness of the former character's testimony. This is a profound bonding moment for the two. Let them inhabit the same shot!
Laymon’s writing is also very much standard for an America indie dramedy, which has its benefits and drawbacks. In the latter category, applying a Way, Way Back/Safety Not Guaranteed/My Old Ass tone to this story robs the darker elements of their full impact. At its heart, Bob Trevino Likes It is an aching story of a woman whose spent years being undermined by her single father. That’s left her a husk of a 25-year-old so lacking in self-sufficiency and confidence she doesn’t know what a plunger looks like. The weight of that psychological turmoil is sometimes underserved by the arch dialogue and melodramatic plot turns. Meanwhile, story elements like Robert Trevino’s cruelty or Lily’s most atonal actions (like her third act visit to Bob and Jeanie’s house) desperately needed more weight. Bob Trevino Like It’s lighter aesthetic sometimes short-changes its characters while also being too evocative of a typical summer 2013 indie.
Even with these shortcomings, though, Laymon’s story, as Chappell Roan would put it, “Gets the job done.” I'd be stretching the truth until it broke if I declared that Bob Trevino Like It’s ending didn’t get me all verklempt. That’s the ultimate sign a feel-good indie tearjerker has done its job right. Also importantly, it’s lovely that Laymon commits to chronicling working-class life in 2025 Kentucky (albeit one where folks under 30 still say “YOLO”). Both her script and camera take the time to capture mundane aspects of both Lily and Robert’s lives, like bus rides, kitchen conversations between friends, taking awkward photos in a bathroom. Happily, Laymon's writing doesn't imbue these moments with pearls of wisdom or endless exposition. They're just naturalistic encounters full of nonchalant dialogue. Chronicling these elements underscores the reality of Bob Trevino Likes It’s world. That quality just makes sentimental moments easier to invest in.
Best of all, this motion picture excels at giving its two lead actors room to shine. The remarkably versatile Leguizamo exudes a tremendously warm energy right from the start of his Bob Trevino performance. There’s an immediate everyman believability to his screen presence exuding confidence that ordinary reality (rather than excessive over-the-top mannerisms) can grab your attention. That confidence proves well-placed. Leguizamo’s so terrific that it’s instantaneously clear why Lily would see him as a welcome nurturing presence in her life.
Speaking of Lily, Barbie Ferreira’s highest-profile film role to date is a major triumph. There’s one Bob Trevino Likes It scene alone that cements her performance as something special, which depicts Ferreira’s Lily walking into this building with Bob and expressing such a rush of emotions just through her eyes. In those pupils, Ferreira vividly and heartbreakingly depicts Lily suddenly realizing where she is, the personal importance of this location, and what a kind gesture Bob’s extended. In a handful of seconds, she conveys so much just through the windows into her soul. It’s a tremendously powerful display of facial acting that isn’t even the only time Ferreira impresses in Bob Trevino Likes It.
Ferreira and Leguizamo (not to mention charming supporting performers like Jones and Lolo Spencer) keep this production emotionally engaging even as Bob Trevino Likes It dabbles in too many big monologues and standard shot choices for its own good. Pulling that camera back and trusting these talented actors with a slightly more complex aesthetic could’ve been a boon for Lymon’s production. Bob Trevino Likes It still hits enough perfectly pleasant and moving beats to elevate it past certain past springtime indie crowdpleasers like the dreadfully monotonous Woman in Gold. Only time will tell, though, if general audiences can suspend their disbelief for Bob Trevino Like Its super-heightened premise suggesting social media can unite and not divide people…