A not father not daughter story worth liking.
“Bob Trevino Likes It” begins with a young woman being disowned by her father named Robert Trevino, and trying to reconnect with him on Facebook, she comes across a man named Bob Trevino. Could they really be related? That’s hard to say. But he does act like a better father figure to her. You don’t always need the gene pool to determine that.
I’m told this movie is based on a true story, inspired by writer/director Tracie Laymon’s experiences, and like “My Dead Friend Zoe,” there’s a sense of wit and complexity regarding family relationships. These young women are blossoming but troubled women who need the audience’s support. And yet, they don’t rely on much tropes or cliches to sell their stories. They rely only on emotions and honesty, and “Bob Trevino Likes It” delivers on them.
The young woman is care-in worker named Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira from “Euphoria” and “Nope”), who is mistreated and unloved by her father Robert (French Stewart). After inadvertently messing up a date for him, he cuts her out of his life, she tries calling him and visits his retirement home, only to be accused of being a trespasser. He was already unloving from the start after she told him she just suffered a break-up.
She tries to Facebook him, but finds a Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo), who likes her childhood photo. They don’t for sure if they are related, but they start messaging each other. He’s not too familiar with YOLO or catfishing, but he agrees to meet her for coffee. His spouse Jeanie (Rachel Bay Jones) thinks Lily is setting him up, and it sounds crazy to Daphne (Lauren “Lolo” Spencer), the disabled roommate Lily cares for. Normally, they would both be right, but that’s not the case here.
While he confirms he can’t be her real dad, he does show some affection for her and they do spend time together. Even him sharing jokes she doesn’t really get with her. Though I wonder how she wouldn’t be able to laugh at them.
I recall “Instructions Not Included,” which was a Mexican comedy about a gigolo whose one-night stand leaves him with her baby girl. But years later, it turns out he’s not the biological father, and despite him being a better parent to her than that woman, she wins the custody battle. And I still consider “Horton Hatches the Egg” to be the easiest custody battle story ever written. A lot easier than that film.
Does “Bob Trevino Likes It” go for that approach? No. But it doesn’t have to. It can show us these two strangers and what they’re going through in life. At times, it is difficult to understand the troubles, but at other times, they learn to thrive against them. Ferreria and Leguizamo both have chemistry and emotions that wins us over, and even on their respective terms, they’re able to ease into their characters.
Without spoiling much of the movie, the girl’s relationship with her lousy father is impossible to see any redeeming qualities. No matter what happens, that jerk will never change and assume his kid is ungrateful. Unfortunately, it does happen to some people in life. But the movie is never whiny or negative about that; it’s outspoken and consistent. Laymon distinguishes the characters based on how life has treated her and who she has met along the way. Thus making Lily and the good Bob wise character studies.
The narrative ends up being a little different than what I would have expected in this type of genre, and that’s a good thing. We need originality every now and then, and not every rule needs to be followed. We just have to absorb the characters and what directions they’re given. Bob Trevino likes Lily’s Facebook pictures, and I like this movie.
In Select Theaters This Friday