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List Price: $14.95 | | Label: The Weinstein Company
Salesrank: 7523
Released: April 10, 2007 |
| Our Price: $3.37 |
| Used Price: $2.09 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
(Drama) A re-telling of the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The film follows 22 individuals who are all at the hotel for different purposes but share the common thread of anticipating Kennedy's arrival at the primary election night party, which would change their lives forever. This historic night is set against the backdrop of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class differences.
Description of Bobby (Full Screen Edition):
In the final quarter or so of Bobby, writer-director-actor Emilio Estevez finally starts tightening his grip on the viewer as we head inexorably toward the film's climax: the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in a Los Angeles hotel kitchen. In the course of these scenes--among them Kennedy's acceptance speech after winning the California Democratic presidential primary (the senator is seen only in file footage), his death at the hands of gunman Sirhan Sirhan, and the chaos and despair that ensued--Estevez steadily ratchets up the sense of tension and dread. Knowing exactly what's coming, while the characters onscreen don't, is excruciating, as is our grief at hearing RFK's own words, so eloquent, so hopeful and inspiring, as we watch the horrible events unfold and wonder what might have been (sure it's manipulative--but it works). But the rest of Bobby isn't nearly as compelling. Nor is it really about Kennedy, despite its obvious adulation of the man whom many thought would defeat Richard Nixon in the '68 general election. In the tradition of, say, an Irwin Allen disaster flick, we're invited into the lives of nearly two dozen folks, most of them at least partly fictional, who were at the Ambassador Hotel that June day, including guests, staff (kitchen workers, switchboard operators, management, etc.), campaign workers, reporters, and more. There are lots of movie stars in the cast, and some of them (Sharon Stone, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy) are very good. But caring about the quotidian minutiae of these people's existences is a chore, and Estevez crams so many issues into his story (the Vietnam war, drugs, alcoholism, voting irregularities, adultery, racism, immigration, communism… even L.A. Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale's streak of consecutive shutouts) and tries so obviously to establish parallels between then and now that too much of the movie feels gratuitous and forced. A warts-and-all film about Robert Kennedy's extraordinary life and career would be welcome. Unfortunately, Bobby isn't it. --Sam Graham
Bobby (Full Screen Edition) Reviews:
Excellent movie 
2008-04-21 - Emelio Estevez did an excellent job with this movie. It showed how Bobby Kennedy affected the lives of people. It was good how he put the various footage of Bobby Kennedy's campaign trail in the movie as well. As I was only a wee baby at the time, it was excellent to see.
Incorrect Focus Cheapens Noble Intention 
2007-12-01 - Prior to watching Bobby, I knew that the movie was about a group of people that were present when Robert (Bobby) Kennedy was assassinated. Thus, I thought the movie would be a portrayal of how Kennedy's death affected their lives. Instead, the movie was a (somewhat) fictionalized depiction of how these people spent the day of Kennedy's assassination, ending with the assassination itself. Consequently, my reaction to the movie was one of confusion and disappointment.
I wouldn't have had the reaction that I did had two elements in the movie been different. First, Emilio Estevez inserted actual newsreel footage and recordings of Kennedy's speeches throughout the movie. These insertions leave the viewer with the thought that Kennedy's words made an impression on people. Thus, it is confusing why Estevez would take the time to include these words when he doesn't show the impact of them. This flaw directly influences the other item of weakness in the movie: the characters themselves. By presenting such a large group of characters (both campaign staff and those not associated with the campaign), Estevez seems to imply that Kennedy was affecting a broad spectrum of society. However, by implying and not completing that connection, the viewer is left wondering why these people's stories are important to follow. The fact that the movie ends without continuing the cast's stories just heightens that puzzlement.
Kennedy's campaign to bring more dignity and economic parity to the poorest members of our society earned him admiration. It's clear that Estevez shared that admiration and wanted to depict it through the movie's characters. However, by not showing how Kennedy's campaign, words, and especially his death inspired people to change, the viewer is left wondering what all the fuss is about. As a result, Bobby has to be seen as a disappointing attempt to portray the influence that one person and his death had on American society.
utter disappointment 
2007-10-21 - I couldn't watch this movie more than 30 minutes. I expected something totally different given the all star cast and glowing reviews on the case. The acting was horrible. It was like the actors decided, "I am going to play this this way" and had no regard for being part of a cast. The dialog was horrible. The actors had no relationship to one another (even in the same scene). But the worst part of it all was the hard to miss propoganda. I didn't want a social commentary on what is going on today. I don't want politics shoved down my throat. If I wanted to be part of a liberal dialog, I would listen to talk radio. I wanted to be entertained and this film failed miserably in doing that for so many reasons.
RFK, we need you 
2007-08-03 - It brought me back to those times of turmoil in our country and someone who inspired us and gave us hope. Real TV footage & speaches by RFK. I purchased 3 of these, one at a time, and gave to friends of RFK's spirit.
We need someone like RFK now.
Bobby, Dear Dear, Bobby
2007-07-25 - Full of saccharine sentimentality, trite grandiose monologues, and waifer thin caricatures. This is another bad film about the idealized 60's generation that's being hailed by the graying 60's generation. Bobby marks the triumphant comeback and directorial debut of Emilio Estevez who was last seen in Mighty Ducks 3. Star power is running from out of both ends of Bobby, but alas, even the most gifted of thespians couldn't transmogrify the mouthfuls of gruel into fine caviar. Ham fisted dialogue handled with kid gloves is still ham fisted dialogue. Luckily for JFK and Bobby they were assassinated early on in their political careers, this way we can permit them the sainthood that any prolonged existence in governance would surely have robbed them.
