By Erika Johanson
Tracie Laymon’s film Bob Trevino Likes It didn’t leave a single dry eye in the cinema. This, of course, was the film’s main motive; tugging on the heartstrings as hard as humanly possible. This film had everything you need to engineer a tear to fall; tragic backstories, found family, puppies, a sickly-sweet main character who deserves better, and a well-timed (spoiler, kind of) death in the family. Centring a socially isolated young woman recently estranged from her narcissistic father who befriends a stranger on the internet with her father’s name, the film’s narrative is based on real recollections of the director’s life, which adds even further to the heartstring tugs. Barbie Ferreira helped to bring this to life with her heart-warming portrayal of the protagonist, Lily. She was so gorgeous and huggable that even while I was trying my best to scoff at the sappiness of some moments of the film, I couldn’t help but smile and feel for her. Alongside John Leguizamo as her online “better dad”, the two’s chemistry made for a very sweet watch. While I wish this film had taken some more risks creatively and visually (since it looked and felt quite generic, and at times narratively fell flat) it still made for an enjoyable experience that somewhat thawed my heart.
Bob Trevino Likes It is the second-to-last film of UWA’s Somerville Auditorium season. If you’d like to purchase tickets, you can find them on the Perth Festival Page or in-person at the box office prior to the show. Tickets are two-for-one on Tuesday but if you want to attend, you’ll need to be early; they often sell out before 6 on the night!