SXSW 2024: Bob Trevino Likes It Will Break Your Heart and Heal It Again
After watching Bob Trevino Likes It, it’s clear why Barbie Ferreira left Euphoria. Sam Levinson wasn’t utilizing the immense talent Ferreira has always had. Bob Trevino Likes It director Tracie Laymon employed Ferreira’s range, giving her a complex character she can finally sink her teeth into. The film opens with Ferreira’s character Lily sobbing, and I think that was the perfect preface for a film that was devastatingly heart shattering.
Bob Trevino Likes It is inspired by the director Tracie Laymon’s own true story. Due to a childhood with a neglectful, narcissistic father, played by French Stewart, Lily Trevino is a people pleaser. After a fight with her biological father, Lily finds herself abandoned in a parking lot — a seemingly regular occurrence for Lily. In a moment of desperation she searches her father’s name on Facebook. Searching for a connection, she clicks “send request.” On the other end of the request is a man who shares her father’s name, Bob Trevino, played by John Leguizamo. Bob often finds himself lonely as well and the two start chatting. What begins as a pleasant chat online develops into a close bond that allows both Lily and Bob to explore what they deserve out of the one life they have.
While Leguizamo has offered his talents to a plethora of films and shows throughout his career, we have never seen him in a role like this. Leguizamo exhibited raw emotion that felt extremely authentic. I never felt as though I was watching a movie, rather I felt I was alongside a friend who is navigating loss in his life and marriage. Ferreira, whose personal life has parallels to her character, offered a performance that no one else could. On an episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, Dax had asked Barbie if she had a relationship with her dad, to which Barbie revealed: "I had a relationship with my father until I was about seven and then he bounced. To this day, I don't really know where he is. He's in Portugal sometimes, in Brazil sometimes. He'll, like, send me messages." She went on to explain: "I don't talk to him for a reason and I haven't since I was kid. He was not a very good man.”
Director Laymon’s efforts off screen were evident in the close on screen relationships that her cast held throughout the film. There was a familial feeling between Lily and Bob that couldn’t have been replicated without a safe set. Given this was a story based on and heavily influenced by the director’s journey, as well as Ferreira’s personal ties to her character, it felt so real. Everyone on set seemed to have a connection to the story or aspects of it, giving the film an extension of genuineness and a depth of these complex characters that could be felt through the screen.
Whatever you’ve been through, you will find yourself wondering if the director had based this story on your personal journey. Every individual watching will feel like this film was made personally for them and about them. Bob Trevino Likes It will break your heart, have you laughing, and leave you awestruck. Director Tracie Laymon provided a beautiful and authentic telling of her story that left me wanting more. If there’s any certainty in the viewing experience, it’s that you will need tissues.
