"Bobby" is more success than failure
“Bobby,” Emilio Estevez’s third film from behind the camera, is a big step up from his last stint as director in 1996 for “Men at Work.” Estevez attracted an all-star cast from Anthony Hopkins to Lindsay Lohan with his original script. However, the response from audiences and critics alike has been mixed, at best.
The film did not score big with audiences, who perhaps expected something less artfully crafted and more straightforward in its presentation. The film left the local Krikorian Premiere Theatre after three weeks of screenings.
“Bobby” has also been more miss than hit with critics. Again, from the title film connoisseurs may have been expecting a docudrama on the life of one of America’s greatest politicians, not a character and time-period examination told through a day in the life of hotel guests and employees present at Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination.
“Bobby” follows the lives of campaign volunteers, hotel guests and employees, a resident drug dealer and entertainers on the day Kennedy won the democratic presidential nomination. The film is set in the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel in the kitchen of which Kennedy was shot after learning of his victory.
“Bobby” attempts to depict the importance of the rise of Kennedy during this time of rising consumer consumption and materialism, class differences, racism and the war in Vietnam through the experiences of 22 different characters.
These different storylines vary in success from compelling and moving to flat and unimportant. However, despite the power, or lack-thereof, of the individual storylines, the overall feeling of the time, disillusionment and hopelessness, was successfully conveyed.
Kennedy represented a light in the darkness, hope where there was none and a future bright with possibility rather than dark with despair. Estevez’s storytelling method may have suffered from flaws along the way, but in the end he was able to convey the gut-wrenching importance of Kennedy’s assassination.
One of the compelling storylines was that of Diane (Lohan) and William (Elijah Wood), young friends who are at the hotel for their wedding. Diane is marrying William, who has been drafted, to keep him out of Vietnam. Her selflessness and his good heart are moving and powerful.
The scenes with the black cook Edward Robinson (Laurence Fishburne) and the Mexican-American kitchen helpers Jose (Freddy Rodriguez) and Miguel (Jacob Vargas) are some of the best-written scenes of the film, ones Estevez should be particularly proud of. Robinson’s diatribe on anger and strength of character are beautiful, capturing the soul of the film and Kennedy’s importance in several bright shining cinematic moments.
Then there are the storylines that fell hopelessly flat. William H. Macy gave a great performance as the hotel manager Paul, but the scenes involving his affair with the hotel telephone operator Angela (Heather Graham) and the confrontation by his wife, the hair stylist Miriam (Sharon Stone) seem completely disconnected from the central theme — Bobby. They added nothing and completely detracted from the overall message.
One of the film’s most delightful elements was the audio and film clips from Kennedy’s many moving speeches. “Bobby” is worth a see if for nothing else than to hear Kennedy’s profound words once more.
Despite this film’s flaws, “Bobby” is heartfelt and it succeeds in more ways than it fails. Though it may not reach the Oscar podium for anything this year, it is more than worthy of a viewing in theaters or at least a DVD rental. Just do not expect a docudrama, but rather artful story weaving and you will find much less to be disappointed in.