“A beautiful story on the power of human connection and friendship that we all need and can still be found through the toxicity of social media. Bob Trevino Likes It is not only a must see film, but the movie we need to see in 2025!”
~ Marcus Blake
Some movies will make you laugh to the end. Some will make you cry. But some will make you do both and those are the great movies. Invoking multiple feelings while watching a film easily makes it the best kind of film to watch, and we don’t often get that anymore. I admit that as a critic, I’m not always one for tearjerkers and that’s one of the reasons I don’t really cover dog movies, but when I saw Bob Trevino Likes It, I’m glad I did and shed a few tears at the end made it worth it. So far it’s my favorite indie movie of 2025 and most likely will end up being my favorite because it’s this beautiful heartwarming story of connection between two human beings where you don’t throw in some awkward love story, but you show the ultimate humanity in people by having strangers find a connection. It’s a movie that’s filled with laughter and tears and shows us the best parts of connecting with people on social media while wading through the toxicity that comes through sites like Facebook. Writer and director Tracie Laymon took a personal story and crafted it into an inspiring story that we all need in a shitty world. As you can imagine, yes, this is a movie that you should definitely see because there’s a reason that it racked up so many audience and narrative awards at film festivals starting with South X Southwest in 2024. And while the story is magical, it is only because of its cast who bring heart and vulnerability to the roles they play especially when you don’t necessarily see them playing these kinds of roles which truly shows their range and we’re going to get to that. So what makes this movie great and was watching?
The story is about a young girl alienated by a father who searches for him on Facebook and ends up friending someone with the same name. It’s not a love story in the traditional sense, just a love of two lonely people who find a connection and become friends. And that’s more real than your traditional Hallmark movie. I make that joke because some might want to compare this kind of film to a Hallmark movie and it’s not as fake or ridiculous. The film stars John Leguizamo as Bob and Barbie Ferreira as Lily, the young girl looking for a connection. And of course, the wonderful French Stewart who probably plays the most awful character of his career. This movie is so good that it literally made me hate French Stewart and I didn’t think that was possible! But let me be clear, not French Stewart the person because he’s a wonderful human being, but his character. I’ve been a huge fan of John Leguizamo for over 30 years. He’s a wonderful and gifted actor that shines whether he’s playing a Navy SEAL and Executive Decision or the crazy coked-up friend, having an affair while searching his neighborhood for the son of Sam in Spike Lee’s Seminal movie Summer of Sam. And this is a bit of a different role for Barbie who is great on the show Euphoria, if I bring so much heart to her role as Lily with a vulnerability towards the role that only seems possible for Oscar winners. She demonstrates a beauty that we don’t find every day and not in the form of physical looks, but of a human being wanting to be of service to others and be the best version of her stuff. And that’s not a knock on her looks within the film, because she’s absolutely stunning. I’ve watched the movie twice and I wonder if anybody better could have done these roles and I don’t think so. Sometimes you find a wonderful accidental cast that makes everything work in the film and that’s what they did. The movie has great pacing and wonderful performances and shows this very beautifully concise movie that doesn’t feel too long or too short. Plus you get some truly awful characters that seem to represent people we know in our own lives whether it’s a dipshit boss or an unloving parent that seems to ruin our life more than bring joy to it. All of the characters are very real and if you’re like me you know these people. They seem to be based on real people that you know which makes us as an audience easily connect to the story.
This is not one of those movies that I have any serious complaints about as a critic. It’s one that I would certainly watch again and not because I’ve known the director for years, but because it’s a wonderful story with a great cast. They always say right what you know and the best stories are the most personal stories. But I think what I like more about this film is it shows a good side of how we can connect the people via social media even today when it seems like social media is filled with propaganda and hate. It’s not the main theme of the story but an underlying theme. However, as a critic, I do have one minor complaint that really isn’t a complaint, but something that just bothers me… So bear with me and please understand that I’m not just being critical for the sake of being critical. It annoys me when critics do that so I definitely try not to be too critical when it’s not necessary. But the one thing I disliked about the film is I want to know more about the characters!!! If you watch it you’ll see what I mean. It’s easy to connect to these characters and want to know more. I even wanted to know more about French Stewart as the Dad and why he became so awful. There are lot of great movies where we we feel like we’re one of the characters or they’re us or we know them. That’s the most beautiful part about Bob Trevino Likes it and that’s what makes me want to no more of their stories. It’s A beautiful film, but I could also see it as a series. I’m so connected to the story that I want to know what Lily does and how she takes everything that she learned from Bob because that’s a character that’s going to be a light in the world. Maybe she will become a filmmaker one day that will give the world great films. So my complaint about this film is not really a complaint only that I want to know more and I hope that this isn’t the last time we visit the characters.
So what’s the verdict, yes the hype is real. As I said there’s a reason this film racked up so many narrative and audience awards at film festivals. Bob Trevino likes it is one of the must-see films of 2025. I’d even go as far as to say you’ll walk out of the theater changed in a good way. This is a film that’s definitely worth the price of a movie ticket. It’s even a good date night movie. And maybe too early to talk about this film and awards season but I’m going to do it anyway. It should certainly be in the talks for best original screenplay if not best director. And, as for this unique and wonderful cast, John, Barbie, and French bring heart and a sensibility to their characters that makes you want to get to know them better or in French Stewart’s case makes you want to punch his character. But that’s what a brilliant and wonderful actor does. They make you like them one moment and then they make you hate them. Tracie Laymon as the writer and director knocks it out of the park with her first feature film and only the future is bright for this talented and wonderful filmmaker. I expect great things from her career and I do not doubt that as a critic along with other fellow critics, we will be talking about her films for a long time. Go see Bob Trevino Likes It. You will not be disappointed!
