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Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, Sharon Stone

"Bobby" is a fictionalized account of various people whose lives intersect in the hours leading up to and including the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angele...( read more  read more... )s. The film is a journey of the heart that examines the relationships between men and women, between races and the social divisions that have clipped away the foundation of our humanity. We are given a glimpse into how life can be drastically changed in a moment in time, an indelible event in our nation's history. The characters are ordinary American's who find themselves at the epicenter of one of the most important incidents of the 20th Century. "Bobby" is not a political story, though politics are certainly an undercurrent. It is not the story of Bobby Kennedy (seen solely in newsreel footage). Rather, it is the story of all of us. "Bobby" is seen through the eyes of 22 characters. The hope, excitement and notion that a change is in the air, which Kennedy ignited in us all, black and white, rich and poor, young and old was extinguished that evening in June.

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161 critics

R, 120

Directed by: Emilio Estevez

Release Date: November 23, 2006

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DVD Release Date: April 10, 2007

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Demi Moore in BOBBY Ashton Kutcher Bobby Mary Elizabeth Winstead in BOBBY Sharon Stone in BOBBY Christian Slater & William H. Macy in BOBBY Elijah Wood & Lindsay Lohan in BOBBY Joy Brown & Heather Graham in BOBBY Sharon Stone & Demi Moore in BOBBY Elijah Wood & Lindsay Lohan in BOBBY Lindsay Lohan & Sharon Stone in BOBBY love 4everelijah woodd!!!!stupid lohannn ¬¬* Anthony Hopkins & William H. Macy in BOBBY Scene from BOBBY Freddy Rodriguez in BOBBY Joshua Jackson & Nick Cannon in BOBBY Scene from BOBBY Scene from BOBBY
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Flixster Reviews (4,712)

  • RiderOfTheStorms
    November 16, 2009
    RiderOfTheStorms
    good film, felt like a dramatic disney film 4 me but still good. good writing.
  • MovieGeek13
    March 19, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    The last twenty minutes are especially moving.
  • stopitgoaway
    December 21, 2008
    stopitgoaway
    #12 Bobby
    Okay, there?s no actor which, we think, adds to this spectacular film. We also have to admit that, of course, Bobby Kennedy's life was cut short before he had a chance to reach The Oval Office. But what the hey! A great cast of actors surround actual clips of Bobby?s sp...( read more)eeches and appearances a short time before his death here.
    President Speak: "I have saved this one opportunity, my only event of today, to speak briefly to you about the mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives."
  • mrpopcorn
    December 5, 2008
    mrpopcorn
    "He saw wrong and tried to right it. He saw suffering and tried to heal it. He saw war and tried to stop it."

    It's early June in 1968, and the California presidential primary elections are occupying the minds of many in the Golden State, with Robert F. Kennedy in a clo...( read more)se race against Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey. The Kennedy campaign staff has set up camp at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, while the staff and guests become observers as the brother of fallen president John F. Kennedy sets out to pick up where his sibling left off. Paul (William H. Macy) is the manager of the Ambassador, and his wife Miriam (Sharon Stone) is a hairdresser who runs's the hotel's beauty salon. Angela (Heather Graham) is a receptionist working the hotel's switchboard who has been sleeping with Paul behind Miriam's back. Timmons (Christian Slater) is in charge of the hotel's restaurant and catering department, and makes no secret of his dislike of the African-Americans and Latinos under his employ. Miguel (Jacob Vargas) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez) are two young Chicanos on the kitchen staff who have it in for Timmons, while Robinson (Laurence Fishburne) is an older black man who counsels them on dealing with their rage. Virginia Fallon (Demi Moore) sings in the hotel's cocktail lounge and has a serious problem with alcohol; her husband Tim (Emilio Estevez) is a Kennedy supporter and also her manager, and he's nearing the end of his rope in dealing with her problem. William (Elijah Wood) is a young man desperate to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam; Diane (Lindsay Lohan) is a pretty young woman dating William's brother who agrees to marry him so William can avoid being drafted, though William is clearly infatuated with her while she considers this a marriage in name only. John Casey (Anthony Hopkins) is one of the owners of the Ambassador, and Nelson (Harry Belafonte) is an old friend who works at the hotel. And Jack (Martin Sheen) is a wealthy Kennedy campaign financier who is married to Samantha (Helen Hunt), an attractive but much younger woman.

    Review
    The idea of engaging viewers with the a variety of characters whilst maintaining the fundamental principles of Bobby Kennedy was ingenious. I found the film very refreshing as it kindly skipped the one million conspiracy theories of 'Who killed Bobby Kennedy?' However, it is clear that he probably would have won the election and paired with the extremely vagueness the assassin's words said to him before he fired the shot, implied that someone didn't want him in office. The major characters include a couple marrying to avoid being sent to Vietnam, an alcoholic performer/singer with a very unappreciated husband, a hairdresser with an unfaithful husband, a kitchen manager with a cynical interpretation of life and two young men who enjoy avoiding responsibility. The minor characters like the kitchen staff, receptionists, the drug dealer, the retired man with Alzheimer's and the waitress aspiring to be an actor are as interesting as the main characters. The film dealt with emotions encountered with betrayal, love and humanity. Therefore, the scene with the most impact showed how people of all races, class and religions grieved at the shooting and death of Bobby Kennedy, a betrayal of humanity. Although, the film left me with a feeling of hope despite this occurrence. Altogether, good direction, great plot and good dialogue. Emilio Estevez pleasantly surprised me with this piece! It was well done.
  • PvtCaboose91
    October 18, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hear...( read more)ts brothers and countrymen once again."


    Bobby is a heartfelt, upbeat and ambitious attempt to remind audiences of the vision of harmony promulgated by Senator Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s amid the divisiveness of the Vietnam War and racial issues. Emilio Estevez (that guy from The Breakfast Club) carried out the duties of a writer and a director for Bobby. Estevez's heart is in the right place: he aimed to make a patriotic and poignant tribute to RFK, and highlight the relevance of the issues of the 60s in contemporary society. In a very tactful way, Estevez shows that in the lives of the American people, even if things were seemingly crashing down around them with racial tension and the war in Vietnam, there was still hope. The heart of the film is the Robert F. Kennedy tragedy, but the arteries and veins feeding this heart are pure trite fiction. Estevez has lofty intentions with his film, but doesn't have the skill as a writer to do these intentions justice.

    Those familiar with the RFK assassination are probably just as familiar with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy which occurred a few years beforehand. Logically enough, these two individuals were brothers. The Kennedy family have a nasty history with unnatural deaths, hence the eventual formation of the Kennedy family curse theory. In 1991, the Oliver Stone movie JFK was released. To me, Stone's movie is a masterpiece of the highest order. With a solid script and terrific actors, JFK was a movie that explored the multiple-year investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It's a fascinating tale, and although the theories do seem somewhat preposterous one must admit that Stone makes a number of both shocking and interesting points. Bobby avoids taking this route. Instead of examining the death of RFK, it's a deeply fictionalised fare: a mosaic of fabricated characters that are present at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel on the fateful day. Estevez tosses together twenty-two protagonists (with their supporting storylines), and mixes the conjured events with footage of RFK campaigning against racism, America's poverty and unlawful McCarthy tactics.

    The cast can only be described as star-studded. There are so many actors making brief cameos throughout the entire flick. Naturally, in Robert Altman style, the lives of a bunch of these characters interweave during the tragedy. If I was to mention each character, actor, and storyline then I'd be typing this review until the next ice age. Here's an assortment of actors who make appearance in the film: Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Freddy Rodriguez, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Elijah Wood, Svetlana Metkina, Henry Belafonte and Christian Slater.

    Needless to say, the film has too many characters and far too many stories to tell. As a result the drama falls flat. With so much going on in such a short duration it becomes nearly impossible to give a flip about any particular storyline. Furthermore, the characters never seem like individual and deep characters. They're all quite one-dimensional, and only a selected amount reaches the second dimension. The storylines are just ideas, not stories, being played out by symbols as opposed to characters. Vietnam, racial unrest, hallucinogens, the Prague Spring and several incarnations of the dissolution of the American family all crop up in these vignettes. As a result the film feels really vacuous and insipid. This premise should have been employed for an extensive mini-series that upped the ante more courageously. Like if a mini-series told the events in real time, or if the story of a different character is told during one episode. Screenwriter Estevez should've also done further research to perhaps find real characters to explore. As it is, these characters are 100% fictional and this is worn on the film's sleeve.

    Unfortunately, as well, there aren't many interesting characters. Instead of casting every Hollywood actor in sight, Estevez's script should've focused on perhaps four or five characters. Twenty-two characters is just too exhausting and too daring. There's too much to absorb and this is an insufficient platform to absorb it from. Several stories are also quite appallingly written. The preachy ravings of Laurence Fishburne are a key example. When he begins spouting rubbish about King Arthur in the kitchen while canonising Freddy Rodriguez, the results are embarrassing. And Lindsay Lohan can't be taken seriously by any means. I've had enough of Lohan over the years. There's also Sharon Stone as a hairdresser for crying out loud!
    There's also a serious lack of atmosphere in the way the Ambassador Hotel is depicted. There's no use of space to convey the stature of the hotel, which becomes integral to Anthony Hopkins' ramblings as a retired employee of the Ambassador.

    Despite these flaws, the film's strengths pay off in spades. The soundtrack is truly stunning. Stirring and poignant original music is mixed with songs of the 60s. These songs achieve their desired effect.
    Bobby also skilfully breaks for lighter moments of comic relief with a hysterical sub-plot about two aides who ditch their duties to "get closer to God" with some LSD purchased from a hippie played by Ashton Kutcher. Surprisingly, Kutcher fails at his usual game of ruining a movie by overdoing it. The director should be commended for this fact alone. Some may feel that the drug interlude doesn't fit in among the drama, but drugs were an essential part of the 60s and this comic relief heightens the film's entertainment value. There's almost nothing funnier than seeing two stoners trying to play tennis.
    The editing is also marvellous. Throughout the film there's archive footage that's expertly mixed with the footage Estevez directed. Especially towards the ending when RFK arrives at the hotel. Estevez opts to never show an actor portraying RFK. As an alternative there's archive footage and ingeniously framed shots to give the impression that RFK is addressing the crowd. This is a great creative decision of Estevez's.

    It's also worth pointing out that Estevez is quite talented behind the camera. There are a number of riveting moments thanks to his directing. For the final 25 minutes, the film never treads a foot wrong. There's ample momentum to fuel the proceedings. There are a number of particularly excellent montages as well. Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence is played during a montage showing clips of Robert F. Kennedy's life. The film is almost entirely redeemed in its final moments by placing one of RFK's most moving speeches against the tragic aftermath of his assassination. It is a magnificent scene - a searing, expressive condemnation of American violence that is accompanied by a stirring speech Kennedy delivered following the death of Martin Luther King. It's a very powerful ending, encapsulating the lost ideals and devastated dreams that emerged from the social tumult of the 60s. The touching music also plays a crucial role here. This ending will leave you glued to your seat even after the credits being to roll.
  • marjdomingo1
    November 1, 2009
    marjdomingo1
    An all star cast, but that's not th reason why i watched it, it aves me several goose bumps, and wondering, is the curse true, why all of them gone and why at the prime of their career, mind bogling huh!
  • dukeakasmudge
    October 29, 2009
    dukeakasmudge
    A better movie then I expected
  • OhCaptainMyCaptian
    October 22, 2009
    OhCaptainMyCaptian
    I've cried during two movies in my entire life. This was one of them.
  • chanadh
    October 12, 2009
    chanadh
    just one word .. tragic
    one of the best movie i ever see !!
  • jasonvargo
    September 29, 2009
    jasonvargo
    You would think in a movie named Bobby the titular character would show up at some point and be integral to the plot. Robert F. Kennedy (yes, that Bobby) doesn't, perhaps to the film's great credit. Instead, the myth of the man takes over as people from different walks of life co...( read more)nverge on the Ambassador Hotel in June, 1968, for their own set of reasons, all of which ultimately show the power he had over the American people.

    With such an eclectic and A-list cast (including, but not limited to, Anthony Hopkins, Martin Sheen, Helen Hunt, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Ashton Kutcher and many more), there was a chance Bobby would fail at the very thing it was trying to do: celebrate the promise RFK had for divergent groups. The young praised him for his revolutionary thinking; the older because of his charismatic and thoughtful ways. And, truth be told, with as many main characters as there are here, the entire story does feel jumbled and chaotic in a way which feeds into this particular day. By not focusing on one person or plot, we run from the kitchen staff straight up to the entertainers to campaign workers, old men sitting in the lobby with nothing better to do and into the lives of a couple planning on getting married. Each time the setting changes, we almost engage in whiplash due to the speed at which Estevez (also the writer and co-star) drops the current train of thought and hitches to another.

    If anything, the film comes off as being a memorial to Kennedy, with the palpable excitement...jubilation...over his candidacy from all quarters. Which makes everything on screen simultaneously exciting and tiresome to watch. Constantly talking in the third person about what the man would do for the country without getting to know him in any meaningful way leaves you wanting more, the hallmark of any good movie. Estevez and the characters revere RFK and this is nothing more than a tribute to him through rose colored glasses. No one is as saintly as he is made out to be here. It simply isn't possible, making this a difficult watch as well.

    The structure of the film has the same effect on the audience. While we never get bored with what we're watching, because of the plethora of characters, none get the chance to stand out from another. By the time the credits roll, we are potentially more interested in playing the "Name the Actor" game than whatever is on screen. Though, the assassination and the ensuing reactions, provide an attitude-a consensus feeling-which can't be put into words. Hopes, dreams, wishes...all shattered right there. It was a moment exemplified by the hotel patrons felt across the country. In that sense, the ability to highlight how individuals from different walks of life react in the same way to the same disaster, Bobby excels. Maybe that is the point, after all. To show how alike we really are in the grand scheme of things.

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Critic Reviews

November 24, 2006
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Ultimately rises above its inadequacies; it's an earnest tribute to a time gone by, and to a symbol of hope. full review

November 24, 2006
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

A lot of quick, character-defining cameos, which makes the movie play out like a pilot for a sprawling prime-time television show. full review

November 22, 2006
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

A preachy, liberal-courting slog. full review

November 20, 2006
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Despite the clunkiness, Estevez's commitment to his father's generation's idealism (and its murder) commands respect. full review

November 19, 2006
Pete Hammond, Maxim

One of the year's best pictures, an unforgettable motion picture experience with an outstanding cast that shines brightly right down to the smallest part. full review

November 17, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Estevez means well. But having your heart in the right place is no excuse for insipid ineptitude. full review

November 17, 2006
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

The archival Kennedy clips aside, the excited radiance of these young characters' faces (and many of them are just extras) may be the best thing about Bobby. full review

November 17, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Despite its flaws, its intriguing premise leaves us haunted by thoughts of 'What if?' full review

November 16, 2006
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

With Bobby, Emilo Estevez tries to link the intimate stories of nearly two dozen characters to a large and consequential public event the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

View more Bobby reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • polkadot148
    November 25, 2007
    polkadot148
    Ashton Kutsher was really bad in this film. He could've done the roll of a hippy/drug guy so much better.
  • rebeccakelly1
    September 7, 2007
    rebeccakelly1
    I thought this fim was really good, so many great actors!
  • jessown
    July 1, 2007
    jessown
    tHIS MOVIE KICK ASS!!!!! Amazin cast!Awemum movie! Loved it!!! :D <3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
  • Alyyeta
    June 17, 2007
    Alyyeta
    I loved it and so many great actors, and the end is sooo dramatic I cried like an idiot...lol
  • jessown
    May 15, 2007
    jessown
    I hav to watch dis movie!!!!!:'D ^^ <33
  • Athelas
    May 2, 2007
    Athelas
    A really good movie indeed! With the wonderful speeches of Robert Kennedy! It made me love this man more than I loved him and it made me re-discover Emilio Estevez who I didn't see in a movie since Young guns (another marvellous & funny film!) And wonderfully sad and really astonishing because the portrait of the amercian in 1968 was really well drawn!
    I like the fact they used real shooting and not an actor!
    I love!
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