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It’s often said that there’s an irony inherent in the words “social media”, for the rise of social media has actually decreased our sociability in many ways. Rather than form human connections we hide behind screens, endlessly screaming into the void of our Facebook and Instagram pages, hoping someone, somewhere will hear us. This is the world in which Tracie Laymon’s semi-autobiographical feature Bob Trevino Likes It places us.
Some may read Bob Trevino Likes It as too saccharine, or perhaps too cliché and obvious in its storytelling – yes, you likely know where this is going, and yes it will absolutely break your heart in some of its deepest moments – but that misses the point. Ultimately what Laymon is communicating here is a need for acceptance, a need to be seen. Thanks to some incredible performances, she achieves that goal here, and reminds us of the importance of getting away from our screens and meeting each other where we are in our lives.
The Two Bobs
Lily Trevino (a phenomenal Barbie Ferreira) is struggling in life. Anchored to an emotionally abusive, narcissistic father, employed as a carer in a role she seems to feel disconnected from, and chronically unlucky in love, Lily is so desperate for connection she’ll take whatever crumb she can get. The opening sequence, for example, finds Lily receiving a spicy text message from her boyfriend – addressed to someone else. She types out a furious response before deleting it and opting instead to ignore the issue, sending a smiley emoji. This is a window into Lily’s psyche that will both infuriate the audience and break their hearts, because we see in Lily such a need for acceptance and yet an almost pathological habit of allowing herself to be trampled over by men who couldn’t care less about her. Her father Bob Trevino (French Stewart, on perfect form as a cruel, broken man) for example.
“Coupon Bob” is a self-involved retiree on a dating spree, looking to capture the attentions of the divorcees in his retirement community. He’s the kind of cheap guy who complains about having to spend money on dates but will happily stick his daughter with the bill during their lunch meetings. In order to woo these eligible retirees, Bob recruits Lily to join him on a dinner date with the sole intention of having his daughter act as hype-man for him. This backfires badly when Lily – eager to please her father and perhaps a little too overzealous during the dinner – confuses Bob’s date with another woman he has also been dating. This inevitably leads to the date’s departure and a disgusting monologue from Bob about his daughter’s uselessness, with a horrible addendum that he is cutting her from his life entirely for good measure. Rather than fight back against this completely disproportionate response, Lily actually Googles “how to apologise” and follows a step by step guide with the intention of winning back her father’s love. It is here that Lily finds what she believes to be her father’s Facebook page – complete with lack of profile picture and everything. She friends him, hoping to find a way to make amends, and ultimately meets the other Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) who will change her life.
source: Glasgow Film Festival 2025
Trevino Two – as we’ll call him – is a childless workaholic with no meaningful friendships, struggling to communicate with his wife since the loss of their child many years ago. The sadness hangs around the couple like a thick miasma, engulfing everything in their life. Bob’s wife Jeanie (Rachel Bay Jones) spends her days engaged in her hobby of scrapbooking, winning numerous competitions which don’t seem to fill the void in her heart. Trevino Two feels helpless and unable to change his wife’s depression – and so throws himself into his work as a way of coping. This all changes the day he receives a Facebook message informing him of a friend request.
A Healing Friendship
What happens next may be predictable – yes, Lily and Trevino Two strike up a wonderful friendship, which heals them both – but the performances from both Ferreira, who is an absolute revelation here, and Leguizamo, excellent as the downtrodden everyman, are so complete and engaging that you can’t help but root for them. Ferreira portrays Lily as both emotionally childlike and vulnerable, yet scared and cautious. She oscillates between a disengaged aloofness to desperation so quickly at times it can be jarring to witness. One of the movie’s best scenes finds Trevino Two gifting Lily with a puppy, after she tells him a story about her dad giving away their puppy when she was a child. In that one scene you can see several emotions pass through Lily almost simultaneously – from fear to cautiousness, denying the reality of what she is experiencing for the pain it’s causing – until a dam bursts and all of her emotions are released at once. It’s a staggering performance from Ferreira and will leave not a single dry eye in the house.
source: Glasgow Film Festival 2025
Leguizamo, too, nails the assignment as Trevino Two. Here is a buttoned-up old school guy who is somehow comfortable with his own feelings, even if he can’t communicate them properly to his wife. He is the calm, rational breakwater to Lily’s tempestuous waves. One scene finds them arguing after Trevino Two finds out Lily has been referring to him as her father. Flustered and uncomfortable, he castigates her for this. Lily immediately goes into crisis mode, fearing she has caused the end of yet another relationship, and begs his forgiveness. Trevino Two calmly tells her everything is okay, that two people can disagree on something without it being the end of the world. This feels like an alien concept for Lily, raised in a toxic environment where any small amount of love she might receive came with conditions which could easily be taken away. Trevino Two’s unwavering consistency creates a place of safety for her, and we feel the magnitude of that moment.
Small moments like that abound through Bob Trevino Likes It and those moments are what make the movie. It is the very definition of a crowdpleaser – willing to break your heart into pieces so it can mend it again. An early scene finds Lily at a therapist’s office, relaying to her therapist her childhood experiences. These experiences are so horrible that the therapist breaks down in tears, and Lily finds herself comforting her. The audience here, will feel oftentimes like the therapist, sad for Lily and her situation; but as she begins to heal and become herself truly, a catharsis takes place. That you will laugh and cry should be taken as read before you go in. Ultimately, what may stay with you, is the sense that we all need connection; for the same way in which Lily found healing from a stranger online who gave her unconditional acceptance, so too can we all find that in others, if we only tear ourselves away from our screens and try to make connections with others.
Conclusion
Bob Trevino Likes It is a truly wonderful piece of cinema, both heart-wrenching and life-affirming in equal measure. Its leave-it-all-on-the-table performances from Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo are masterful and emotionally engaging. In the end, as the credits roll, it will leave you with a renewed sense of optimism in humanity – and we could all use that right now.
Bob Trevino Likes It screened as part of the Glasgow Film Festival 2025.
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