movie minute

Bobby Boy: A history lesson-Emilio Estevez, director of the "new" Grand Hotel-like movie Bobby (R), was only 6 years old on the fateful day that Robert F. Kennedy was shot. I was not even born and my parents did not even know each other. Had Kennedy not been shot, chances are very good that Kennedy would either be at the beginning of his second term or been beaten after serving only one term. I liked this movie but then I'm a sucker for historical movies in which actual news footage is shown (not gratuitously) depicting the history that the movie's story is telling. Bobby shows different characters at the Ambassador hotel on the day of the California Primary on June 4, 1968. Senator Kennedy is shown in newsreel footage but all of the other characters are fictitious and their stories unfold around the primary.

The film is chockablock full of A- & B stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Demi Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, William H. Macy, Emilio Estevez, Helen Hunt, Sharon Stone, Martin Sheen, Elijah Wood, Nick Cannon, Shia LeBeouf, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, and Harry Belafonte to name a few. And each of them has their "moment" as I call it. It's hard to pick a standout in this film although Demi Moore, as an aging and boozy lounge singer, certainly has arguably the meatiest role.

The shooter of Kennedy was Sirhan B. Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian. He shot Kennedy because of Kennedy's support for Israel during the Six-Day War. What's interesting is there is no record of Kennedy supporting Israel during this period. What's more, Sirhan admitted in court that he shot Kennedy but later recanted and sought a new trial in 1998. A point of reference: Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated only two months prior to Kennedy's shooting. Why was it so easy to assassinate someone in the U.S. back then? (rhetorical question)

It's obvious that Estevez did his homework and it shows in the directing while the writing is mediocre. Some of the scenes were shot at the real Ambassador hotel. Sadly, the hotel was demolished during filming. Martin Sheen, Estevez's father, at the request of the Kennedy family, was instrumental in getting the hotel demolished so a school could be built. Small world, indeed. The best parts of the film are of Kennedy himself; those scenes really resonated with me. The highlight of the film is by far Kennedy's speech that plays at the close of the film. As he talks about violence and how it degrades our country and affects everyone around us, we see first hand in the film that he was right. This man, who lived in the shadow of his older brother for a long time, was a speaker who was filled with compassion and was open and challenging.

One problem I had with this film is the Ashton Kutcher sequence. Kutcher plays a hippie who hooks gives acid to two campaign workers; the resulting "high" scene in the hotel room is bizarre and seemingly out of place. The other problems with this film are its soap opera-y feel and the fact that the lives of these people don't connect enough with what's happening outside of the hotel. The moments in which Kennedy is shown or referenced are the best and most resounding. The shot of Moore after Kennedy is shot is one of the most visceral reactions of the characters to the news. A movie about a man who signified change for a country tired of war, tired of lies, tired of being held down and ready for a big change (sound familiar) certainly came out at the right time. Bobby is not a documentary or a biography yet it does depict a "once and future King" who was handsome, adulated, kindhearted and bold was taken from us the American people and we'll never know how different and how much more we could have been had he risen to the top.

Bags of popcorn (out of 5): 4

possible Oscar nominations:

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay

paul