| BOBBY |
 2006 - USADirector: Emilio Estevez
- Reviewed by Eric
Are you ready for my one-sentence review of Bobby? Here it is: I liked everything about it except for the writing and directing. Luckily, the fact that Bobby was both written and directed by the same person makes it simpler to isolate its flaws, set them aside, and enjoy some solid performances. The movie takes place in a single day at the Ambassador Hotel, leading up to Kennedy's murder that night after addressing a crowd of supporters in the hotel ballroom. Estevez offers us a snapshot of our nation in a time of upheaval, through the eyes of 22 fictional witnesses to this pivotal moment. It's an admirable undertaking to be sure, but it doesn't take long to see that Estevez is not up to the task. You can feel Bobby straining for the same kind of dramatic panorama that feels so effortless in Robert Altman or Paul Thomas Anderson's best work, but that's just it. You can feel it. As Bobby drifts from one scenario to the next, it's not that the movie doesn't flow easily, it's the scenes themselves that don't work. Jumping back and forth between 22 stories, they each receive a comfortable amount of screentime, but there is missing sense that all these stories are connected. Many characters cross paths in unexpected ways, but they're not unexpected enough. The dialogue feels functional and lacking in subtext. There are times when it feels a little made-for-TV. On the other hand, it's wonderful to see some of these actors given a chance to shine in a film like this, though you wish they had been given meatier scenes to work with. Rodriguez, Slater, and LaBeouf stand out. Belafonte and Hopkins make an impression in the brief scenes they share. Meanwhile, Lohan easily out-acts Wood in their scenes together. And you may want to check your Sharon Stone jokes at the door, because she shares a knockout of a scene with Moore and overall gives one of the best performances I've seen this year. Other subplots feel unnecessary or poorly handled. Fishburne kills with his first scene, then embarrasses with his second. Lohan and Wood are given nothing to do. Kutcher never validates his own casting. And is this really the best Estevez could have done with Sheen and Hunt? It hurts me to say this, because Bobby is obviously such a passion project for Estevez, but his script and direction are the misfires that keep this movie from being great. With an overload of talented players to work with, Estevez the writer/director only truly engages us near the end of the film. There is a montage during which Bobby finally clicks, and rides a thrilling wave of momentum all the way to the closing credits. This is a final sequence really, really worth waiting for. But I would understand if you didn't want to. DVD NOTES - by JenniferSince Bobby is in every way Emilio Estevez's baby, I was surprised that he didn't record an audio commentary track to go along with the DVD. Luckily, the "Making Of" featurette compensates nicely. It offers up interviews with the biggest names in this star-studded cast and covers all the important behind-the-scenes info. It also gives a bit of background on Robert F. Kennedy, and chronicles the last days of the Ambassador Hotel. A second featurette includes a panel discussion with people who were at the hotel on the night Bobby was shot. Regardless of the film's faults, Estevez has gone to great lengths to preserve this bit of history. |
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I had my one-sentence review for Bobby, Emelio Estevez's drama
centering around the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy, before the
credits finished rolling. And what credits they are—the stunning
ensemble cast includes 20 names you may never have imagined would
share a billing. Because it is one of the most fascinating things
about the film, I'll list them for you right now: Harry Belafonte, Joy
Bryant, Nick Cannon, Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Heather
Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, David Krumholtz,
Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Demi
Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone,
and Elijah Wood.
