Bob Trevino Likes It

“Connection” is a word which has multiple meanings in 2025 - whilst it can be used to describe a shared experience or commonality between people, it also (and perhaps, primarily nowadays) has a technological connotation. A connection to the internet is essential in order to participate in modern society, and this connection then enables us to “connect” with others online. The trouble is, our ability to theoretically interact with anyone, anywhere, anytime makes it all the more painful when bids for connection are unsuccessful, ignored or met with indifference, which can make us feel we’re - as John Leguizamo’s Bob Trevino says at one point - “screaming into the void”.

Bob Trevino Likes It is the story of Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira), an incredibly lonely young woman whose emotionally abusive, manipulative father Bob (French Stewart) one day stops all contact with her, leading her to search for him on Facebook, where she finds another man, also by the name of Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo), a mild-mannered, married, Mexican-American construction worker -and total stranger. She impulsively sends him a friend request, and is thrilled when he accepts, leading the two to strike up an online friendship. Lily has her father saved in her phone as Bob Trevino (Dad), so for the purposes of this review, I will refer to the two Bobs as “Dad” and “Not-Dad”.

Maybe it’s because I’ve recently watched Sweet Bobby, a wild Netflix catfish documentary, but I was bracing myself for something to go horribly wrong, for someone to not be what they seem, or for either party to develop inappropriate romantic or sexual feelings, but thankfully, that’s not what this is about. The relationship between Lily and not-dad Bob is truly lovely, and we really get the sense that they need each other in equal measure. Barbie Ferreira as Lily is incredible - at first, I found her performance quite abrasive, and felt she was over-acting, but it soon becomes clear that this was a performance within a performance; Lily is an utterly traumatised people-pleaser, desperate to be liked and to appear care-free, funny and affable, craving her father’s love and a genuine connection with someone, anyone. The harder she tries, the more people pull away, and it’s extremely uncomfortable viewing.

As Lily’s walls come down, they reveal the intricate layers of Ferreira’s performance, and it is incredibly impressive. Leguizamo also excels in a much more understated way, managing to create a character that is instantly likeable and trustworthy, even though the audience spends far less time with him than Ferreira. French Stewart does a good job as Lily's narcissist father, but the character of Bob Trevino (Dad) is so heinous, it veers into caricature. Bob Trevino (Dad) is completely irredeemable, and displays no growth or humanity throughout the film  - this was perhaps intentional, as we follow the action mostly through Lily’s eyes, and he has clearly been a monstrous father. However, she also grapples with her love for him, and I think it perhaps would have been more powerful had his performance been more grounded to match Ferreira’s, But again, this may have been intentional - it just felt a little too over the top to fully engage with at points.

Lily and Bob (not Dad)’s relationship perhaps hits the ground running too quickly and smoothly, and, while it was refreshing that there were no sinister undertones, it would have been interesting to further explore the impact of the friendship on Bob’s marriage, and hear more what his wife (Rachel Bay Jones) and Lily's roommate and employer Daphne (Lolo Spencer) thought of it all. The back half of the film feels slightly slow and over-long, and, after such an emotionally rich first half, I found the ending to be slightly unsatisfying. However, the final reveal of the real-life messages between filmmaker Tracie Laymon and her own “not-Dad” which inspired the story was a lovely touch, and made me wonder if perhaps the ending feels unsatisfying because that’s how it felt to her when she experienced it for real - though, I’m not sure how faithfully the film mirrored the real-life event it was based on.

Overall, Bob Trevino Likes It is a deeply moving, charming film, with some wonderful performances at its core. I was already a fan of the brilliant John Leguizamo, but was previously unfamiliar with Barbie Ferreira’s work. Based on this, I am definitely keen to see what she does next.

Bob Trevino Likes It is available on Digital Download now