A live-in caregiver Lily Trevino (played by Barbie Ferreira) gets cheated on by her boyfriend and has a fallout with her selfish father Bob (French Stewart), leading her down a lonely spiral. She’s been conditioned to believe that everything bad that happens in other people’s lives are her fault thanks, in large part, to her verbally and emotionally abusive dad. This lack of self-worth comes to a head when she tries to help her father land a date but makes a mistake by trying to connect with the woman using facts about a different woman her dad was considering. This fallout is the final straw and the two part ways. In her desperate search to make amends, Lily finds a Bob Trevino on Facebook and messages him with the hope it’s her father’s new account that he’d told her about. The message goes to a different Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) who’s also craving a meaningful connection outside of his home. The two eventually meet and find things in each other that they didn’t know they needed, bringing out the best in one another and allowing each to grow emotionally and socially.
Wow. What an emotional powerhouse of a movie. BOB TREVINO LIKES IT is the best film of 2025 to this point, Tracie Laymon has penned (and directed) a gem here and Ferreira should already be considered for end of year lists.
Yes, even with nine months left to go.
Writing a script about a purely plutonic relationship between a middle-aged man and a young woman is extremely difficult. Laymon addresses all the pitfalls perfectly, right down to showing two tents in the background of the camping scene, not allowing the audience to think — even for a second — that there’s anything more than a friendship happening in front of them.
Additionally, it doesn’t end the way you expect it to and, once again, Laymon deserves full marks for that.
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT stands out as one of the best films of the year. I cannot express enough how maddening Stewart’s character is, how simple-yet-unique the story is and how absolutely incredible Ferreira is. It’s not loaded with household names, it’s not action-packed and it’s not a big budget movie so hardly anybody’s going to see this — or even know it exists — and that’s a shame.
Speaking on feelings, we should all feel grateful movies like BOB TREVINO LIKES IT still get made.
JKG SCORE: 8.5
Untitled Film Project 