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Bobby (2006 film)
Encyclopedia
Bobby is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Emilio Estevez
. The screenplay is a fiction
alized account of the hours leading up to the June 5, 1968 shooting
of United States Senator from New York and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
in the kitchen of The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles
following his win in the California
Democratic Party primary
for the 1968 Presidential Election.
footage of the senator
intercut with dramatic sequences involving mostly fictional characters. It uses an ensemble
plot device similar to that employed in the 1932 film Grand Hotel
, and later used by Robert Altman
in Nashville.
The characters include John Casey (Hopkins
), a retired hotel doorman who spends his days playing chess with his friend Nelson (Belafonte
) in the lobby; Diane (Lohan
), who is marrying her friend William (Wood
) with the hope his marital status will have him deployed
to a military base
in Germany
rather than the battlefields
of Vietnam
when his tour of duty
begins; Virginia Fallon (Moore
), an alcoholic singer whose career is on the downswing, her put-upon husband/manager Tim (Estevez
), and her agent Phil (Krumholtz
); Miriam Ebbers (Stone
), a beautician who works in the hotel salon, and her husband Paul (Macy
), the hotel manager, who is having an affair with switchboard
operator Angela (Graham); food and beverage
manager Daryl Timmons (Slater
), whose racist attitude gets him fired; African American
sous chef Edward Robinson (Fishburne
) and Mexican American
busboy
s José and Miguel (Rodriguez
and Vargas
); hotel coffee shop waitress Susan (Winstead
); Jimmy and Cooper (Geraghty
and LaBeouf
), campaign volunteers who are sidetracked by an acid trip they take with the help of drug dealer Fisher (Kutcher
); married socialites and campaign donors Samantha and Jack (Hunt
and Sheen
); campaign manager Wade and staffer Dwayne (Jackson
and Cannon
), who is in a love interest with Angela's colleague, Patricia (Bryant
); and Czechoslovak reporter Lenka Janáčková (Metkina
), who is determined to get an interview with Kennedy.
At the end of the film, Kennedy's speech "On the Mindless Menace of Violence
," delivered in 1968 to the City Club
of Cleveland, Ohio
, is played over a montage of the reaction of those present to the assassination. Several of the characters get wounded, such as William, Jimmy & Cooper, Samantha and Daryl. At the end of the film we are told that they all survived.
, he checked into a motel in Pismo Beach where he hoped, free from interruption, he could make some headway with his writing. While talking to the woman working at the front desk, he discovered she had been in the Ambassador Hotel on the evening Kennedy was shot, and later married two young men to help them avoid the draft. Estevez used her experience to mold the character of Diane, and the rest of the story fell into place.
The only other character based on a real person is busboy José, who represents Juan Romero, the young man who was photographed cradling Kennedy's body immediately after he was shot. The character of José has tickets to the Los Angeles Dodgers
game in which Don Drysdale
is expected to set the record of six consecutive shutout
s, but is obliged to work a double shift, forcing him to miss the game. Drysdale did in fact achieve his sixth shutout on June 4, 1968, and was congratulated by Kennedy during the victory speech he delivered just before being shot.
during the film's pre-production period, giving production designer Patti Podesta the opportunity to purchase much of the furniture and decorative pieces used in the film. The hotel was scheduled for demolition one week after filming was scheduled to begin. Estevez got permission to film in and around the building during that period, adding to the film's authenticity.
, with "Never Gonna Break My Faith" written by Bryan Adams
and performed by Aretha Franklin
, Mary J. Blige
, and the Boys Choir of Harlem
, which was played during the closing credits. As well, a newly recorded version of "Louie Louie
" was performed in character by Demi Moore
for the film.
Songs heard throughout the film consist of a music compilation from the 1960s, including "Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson
, "I Was Made to Love Her" by Stevie Wonder
, "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye
, an original acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence
" by Simon & Garfunkel, "Anji
" by Paul Simon
, "Come See About Me" by The Supremes
, "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" by Herman's Hermits
, "Black Is Black
" by Los Bravos
, "Season of the Witch" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan
, "Wives and Lovers" by Jack Jones
, "Magic Moments
" by Perry Como
, "Pata Pata
" by Miriam Makeba
, and "Initials" from the musical Hair
.
the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival
and was shown at the Deauville Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, the Vienna International Film Festival, the London Film Festival
, and AFI Fest
before going into limited release in the US on November 17, 2006. Playing on two screens, it grossed $69,039 on its opening weekend. It eventually earned $11,242,801 in North America and $9,355,005 in other territories for a total worldwide box office of $20,597,806.
and a normalized rating of 54% based on 31 reviews on Metacritic
.
A. O. Scott
of The New York Times
said, "Emilio Estevez . . . sets himself a large and honorable task. It is important to appreciate this in spite of his movie's evident shortcomings. Intentions do count for something, and Mr. Estevez's seem to me entirely admirable . . . The actors seem more like 'very special guest stars' than like real, 1968-vintage Americans, and their period-appropriate get-ups . . . are more distracting than convincing . . . Some of the stories feel too obviously melodrama
tic, while others are vague to the point of inscrutability. In the Vietnam- and drug-related plots, the point is hammered home too hard . . . while other narratives wind toward no discernible point at all. Nonetheless the ambition behind Bobby is large and serious."
Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times
called it "an ambitious film drenched in sincerity and oozing with nostalgia that, despite the energy provided by its title icon via archival footage, falls flat dramatically in nearly every other way. It aspires for the Altmanesque
interplay of Nashville or Short Cuts
but instead feels like one of those '70s disaster epics such as Earthquake
or The Towering Inferno
, in which a star-studded cast endures melodramatic story lines as the audience awaits the inevitable momentous event and tries to guess who will be around at the finish . . . It's easy to become swept up in the palpable enthusiasm Estevez shows toward his subject, but the pedestrian and overly expositional dialogue of the film's characters proves to be as stifling as the excerpts from Kennedy's speeches are stirring."
Deborah Young of Variety
said of Estevez, "Stepping up as writer and director in a way he never has before, [he] successfully pulls together a complexly designed narrative," and added the film "carries an eerie topicality that makes many of its insights instantly click."
Armond White
of New York Press
wrote that the film "has a humane sweetness", and that it "literally and vividly unites different ethnic groups, labor strata and social castes" in a way that "is not schematic—its exactitude and believability has a Tocquevillian brilliance."
Steve Persall of the St. Petersburg Times
graded the film C, calling it "a misguided jumble of too much fiction, few facts and zero speculation" and Estevez "a mediocre filmmaker."
Michael Medved
, who was in the Ambassador ballroom (in fact 20 feet from the podium) the night Kennedy was shot, awarded the film three out of four stars and called it "intriguing but imperfect." He added, "Emilio Estevez gets most of the feelings of the occasion right. But, the melodramatic, multi-character format proves somewhat uneven and distracting."
Richard Roeper
said, "Estevez writes and directs with lots of passion, not so much subtlety . . . [He] wants the movie to be on the level of a Robert Altman film like Nashville but falls short."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
gave the film one star and called it "trite fiction" and a work of "insipid ineptitude." He ranked it among the worst films of 2006, as did Lou Lumerick of the New York Post
who dubbed it "ambitious, but utterly wrong-headed trivialization."
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
. The screenplay is a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
alized account of the hours leading up to the June 5, 1968 shooting
Robert F. Kennedy assassination
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California...
of United States Senator from New York and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
in the kitchen of The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
following his win in the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Democratic Party primary
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries
-1972:After the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, Ted Kennedy fell from front runner to non-candidate. Ed Muskie was the establishment favorite until he was reported to have cried emotionally during a speech defending himself against the Canuck letter. George McGovern was able to gain ground and...
for the 1968 Presidential Election.
Plot
The film recreates the ambiance of the era and invokes the hopes inspired by Kennedy through the use of actual newsreelNewsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
footage of the senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
intercut with dramatic sequences involving mostly fictional characters. It uses an ensemble
Ensemble
Ensemble may refer to:* Musical ensemble* Ensemble cast * Dance ensemble* Statistical ensemble ** Quantum statistical mechanics, the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems...
plot device similar to that employed in the 1932 film Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel (film)
Grand Hotel is a 1932 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by William A. Drake and Béla Balázs is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Drake, who had adapted it from the 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum...
, and later used by Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
in Nashville.
The characters include John Casey (Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
), a retired hotel doorman who spends his days playing chess with his friend Nelson (Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
) in the lobby; Diane (Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
), who is marrying her friend William (Wood
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
) with the hope his marital status will have him deployed
Military deployment
Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world.-United States:The United States Military defines the term as follows:...
to a military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
rather than the battlefields
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
when his tour of duty
Tour of duty
In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....
begins; Virginia Fallon (Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
), an alcoholic singer whose career is on the downswing, her put-upon husband/manager Tim (Estevez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
), and her agent Phil (Krumholtz
David Krumholtz
David Krumholtz is an American actor best known for playing Professor Charlie Eppes in the television series Numb3rs. He appeared as Seth Goldstein in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its two sequels, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas...
); Miriam Ebbers (Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
), a beautician who works in the hotel salon, and her husband Paul (Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
), the hotel manager, who is having an affair with switchboard
Switchboard
The term switchboard, when used by itself, may refer to:*Telephone switchboard*Electric switchboard*Printed circuit board*Mixing console*In computing, Switch board...
operator Angela (Graham); food and beverage
Food and Beverage
F&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage", which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods...
manager Daryl Timmons (Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
), whose racist attitude gets him fired; African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
sous chef Edward Robinson (Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
) and Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
busboy
Busboy
Busser, busboy and busgirl are terms used in the United States for someone who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables and otherwise assisting the waiting staff....
s José and Miguel (Rodriguez
Freddy Rodriguez
Freddy Rodriguez is an American actor known for playing the characters Hector Federico "Rico" Diaz on HBO's Six Feet Under and El Wray in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror...
and Vargas
Jacob Vargas
-Early life:Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, since 1971. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.-Career:...
); hotel coffee shop waitress Susan (Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
); Jimmy and Cooper (Geraghty
Brian Geraghty
Brian Timothy Geraghty is an American film and television actor, best known for his role in the Academy Award winning film The Hurt Locker.-Early life:Geraghty was born in Toms River Township, New Jersey, and is of Irish ancestry...
and LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
), campaign volunteers who are sidetracked by an acid trip they take with the help of drug dealer Fisher (Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
); married socialites and campaign donors Samantha and Jack (Hunt
Helen Hunt
Helen Elizabeth Hunt is an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She starred in the sitcom Mad About You for seven years, before being cast in the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets...
and Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
); campaign manager Wade and staffer Dwayne (Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
and Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
), who is in a love interest with Angela's colleague, Patricia (Bryant
Joy Bryant
Joy Bryant is an American actress and former fashion model. Joy currently stars as Jasmine Trussell in Parenthood-Early life:...
); and Czechoslovak reporter Lenka Janáčková (Metkina
Svetlana Metkina
Svetlana 'Lana' Metkina is a Russian actress from Moscow. She is known outside Russia for playing a Czechoslovakian reporter in the 2006 film Bobby.-Filmography:*2007: Trackman - Katya*2006: Bobby - Lenka Janáček...
), who is determined to get an interview with Kennedy.
At the end of the film, Kennedy's speech "On the Mindless Menace of Violence
On the Mindless Menace of Violence
"On the Mindless Menace of Violence" is a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy at the City Club of Cleveland on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.-External links:* from the City Club...
," delivered in 1968 to the City Club
City Club of Cleveland
The City Club of Cleveland was incorporated in 1912 as a non-partisan forum for debate. Known as "America's Citadel of Free Speech", it is the longest continuous independent free speech forum in the country and generally considered one of the top three speaking forums in America...
of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, is played over a montage of the reaction of those present to the assassination. Several of the characters get wounded, such as William, Jimmy & Cooper, Samantha and Daryl. At the end of the film we are told that they all survived.
Cast
- Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
as Nelson - Joy BryantJoy BryantJoy Bryant is an American actress and former fashion model. Joy currently stars as Jasmine Trussell in Parenthood-Early life:...
as Patricia - Nick CannonNick CannonNicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
as Dwayne Clark - Emilio EstevezEmilio EstevezEmilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
as Tim Fallon - Laurence FishburneLaurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
as Edward Robinson - Dave Fraunces as Robert Kennedy
- Jeridan Frye as Ethel KennedyEthel Skakel KennedyEthel Skakel Kennedy is the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, who served as Attorney General of the United States and a United States Senator for the state of New York.-Early life:...
- Spencer GarrettSpencer GarrettSpencer Garrett is an American actor who has appeared in television programs, television films, films, and a few blockbuster productions like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Public Enemies, and Air Force One....
as David - Brian GeraghtyBrian GeraghtyBrian Timothy Geraghty is an American film and television actor, best known for his role in the Academy Award winning film The Hurt Locker.-Early life:Geraghty was born in Toms River Township, New Jersey, and is of Irish ancestry...
as Jimmy - Heather Graham as Angela
- Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as John Casey - Helen HuntHelen HuntHelen Elizabeth Hunt is an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She starred in the sitcom Mad About You for seven years, before being cast in the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets...
as Samantha - Joshua JacksonJoshua JacksonJoshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
as Wade Buckley - David Kobzantsev as Sirhan SirhanSirhan SirhanSirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Jordanian citizen who was convicted for the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California.Sirhan was a Christian Arab born in Jerusalem who strongly opposed Israel...
- David KrumholtzDavid KrumholtzDavid Krumholtz is an American actor best known for playing Professor Charlie Eppes in the television series Numb3rs. He appeared as Seth Goldstein in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its two sequels, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas...
as Agent Phil - Ashton KutcherAshton KutcherChristopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
as Fisher - Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeoufShia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
as Cooper - Lindsay LohanLindsay LohanLindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
as Diane Howser - William H. MacyWilliam H. MacyWilliam Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
as Paul Ebbers - Svetlana MetkinaSvetlana MetkinaSvetlana 'Lana' Metkina is a Russian actress from Moscow. She is known outside Russia for playing a Czechoslovakian reporter in the 2006 film Bobby.-Filmography:*2007: Trackman - Katya*2006: Bobby - Lenka Janáček...
as Lenka - Demi MooreDemi MooreDemi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
as Virginia Fallon - Freddy RodriguezFreddy RodriguezFreddy Rodriguez is an American actor known for playing the characters Hector Federico "Rico" Diaz on HBO's Six Feet Under and El Wray in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror...
as José Rojas - Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
as Jack - Christian SlaterChristian SlaterChristian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
as Daryl Timmons - Sharon StoneSharon StoneSharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
as Miriam Ebbers - Jacob VargasJacob Vargas-Early life:Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, since 1971. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.-Career:...
as Miguel - Mary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
as Susan Taylor - Elijah WoodElijah WoodElijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
as William Avary
Development
In Bobby: The Making of an American Epic, screenwriter/director Emilio Estevez discusses the problems he had developing his script. Suffering from writer's blockWriter's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
, he checked into a motel in Pismo Beach where he hoped, free from interruption, he could make some headway with his writing. While talking to the woman working at the front desk, he discovered she had been in the Ambassador Hotel on the evening Kennedy was shot, and later married two young men to help them avoid the draft. Estevez used her experience to mold the character of Diane, and the rest of the story fell into place.
The only other character based on a real person is busboy José, who represents Juan Romero, the young man who was photographed cradling Kennedy's body immediately after he was shot. The character of José has tickets to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
game in which Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
is expected to set the record of six consecutive shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s, but is obliged to work a double shift, forcing him to miss the game. Drysdale did in fact achieve his sixth shutout on June 4, 1968, and was congratulated by Kennedy during the victory speech he delivered just before being shot.
Production
The Ambassador Hotel had shuttered its doors and put its fixtures and furnishings up for auctionAuction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
during the film's pre-production period, giving production designer Patti Podesta the opportunity to purchase much of the furniture and decorative pieces used in the film. The hotel was scheduled for demolition one week after filming was scheduled to begin. Estevez got permission to film in and around the building during that period, adding to the film's authenticity.
Music
The film's score was composed by Mark IshamMark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
, with "Never Gonna Break My Faith" written by Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
and performed by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, and the Boys Choir of Harlem
Boys Choir of Harlem
The Boys Choir of Harlem was a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. Its last performance was in 2007 and the group folded shortly thereafter due to several controversies, a large budget deficit, and the death of its founder.Founded in 1968 by Dr...
, which was played during the closing credits. As well, a newly recorded version of "Louie Louie
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...
" was performed in character by Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
for the film.
Songs heard throughout the film consist of a music compilation from the 1960s, including "Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, "I Was Made to Love Her" by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, an original acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence
The Sound of Silence
"The Sound of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened, and has become...
" by Simon & Garfunkel, "Anji
Anji
-Places:*Anji, a village in Balasore , India*Anji County, a county in the city of Huzhou in Zhejiang, China*Anji Bridge, or Zhaozhou Bridge, an ancient stone bridge in Hebei Province, China.-People:*Anji Bee, vocalist/lyricist...
" by Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, "Come See About Me" by The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" by Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
, "Black Is Black
Black Is Black
"Black Is Black" is a song by rock band Los Bravos, released in 1966 as the group's debut single for Decca Records. Produced by Ivor Raymonde, the song reached number two in the UK,number four in the U.S.,and number one in Canada....
" by Los Bravos
Los Bravos
Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965, and based in Madrid. Their single "Black Is Black" reached #2 in the United Kingdom in July 1966, and #4 in the United States selling over a million records.-Biography:...
, "Season of the Witch" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, "Wives and Lovers" by Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
, "Magic Moments
Magic Moments
"Magic Moments" is a popular song with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David, one of the first compositions by that duo. The song was published in 1957....
" by Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, "Pata Pata
Pata Pata
"Pata Pata" is a song by South African singer Miriam Makeba. The song was written by fellow southern African artist Dorothy Masuka and first released by Makeba in 1957 when she still lived in South Africa. The song was released in the United States in 1967 for her studio album of the same name...
" by Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, and "Initials" from the musical Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
.
Release
After an initial premiere at the NUIG Student Cinema at the National University of Ireland, GalwayNational University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
and was shown at the Deauville Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, the Vienna International Film Festival, the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
, and AFI Fest
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
before going into limited release in the US on November 17, 2006. Playing on two screens, it grossed $69,039 on its opening weekend. It eventually earned $11,242,801 in North America and $9,355,005 in other territories for a total worldwide box office of $20,597,806.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews. It scored a 45% based on 161 reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a normalized rating of 54% based on 31 reviews on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said, "Emilio Estevez . . . sets himself a large and honorable task. It is important to appreciate this in spite of his movie's evident shortcomings. Intentions do count for something, and Mr. Estevez's seem to me entirely admirable . . . The actors seem more like 'very special guest stars' than like real, 1968-vintage Americans, and their period-appropriate get-ups . . . are more distracting than convincing . . . Some of the stories feel too obviously melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
tic, while others are vague to the point of inscrutability. In the Vietnam- and drug-related plots, the point is hammered home too hard . . . while other narratives wind toward no discernible point at all. Nonetheless the ambition behind Bobby is large and serious."
Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called it "an ambitious film drenched in sincerity and oozing with nostalgia that, despite the energy provided by its title icon via archival footage, falls flat dramatically in nearly every other way. It aspires for the Altmanesque
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
interplay of Nashville or Short Cuts
Short Cuts
Short Cuts is a 1993 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver...
but instead feels like one of those '70s disaster epics such as Earthquake
Earthquake (film)
Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
or The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
, in which a star-studded cast endures melodramatic story lines as the audience awaits the inevitable momentous event and tries to guess who will be around at the finish . . . It's easy to become swept up in the palpable enthusiasm Estevez shows toward his subject, but the pedestrian and overly expositional dialogue of the film's characters proves to be as stifling as the excerpts from Kennedy's speeches are stirring."
Deborah Young of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said of Estevez, "Stepping up as writer and director in a way he never has before, [he] successfully pulls together a complexly designed narrative," and added the film "carries an eerie topicality that makes many of its insights instantly click."
Armond White
Armond White
Armond White is a New York-based film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He is currently the editor of City Arts, for which he also writes articles and reviews...
of New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
wrote that the film "has a humane sweetness", and that it "literally and vividly unites different ethnic groups, labor strata and social castes" in a way that "is not schematic—its exactitude and believability has a Tocquevillian brilliance."
Steve Persall of the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
graded the film C, calling it "a misguided jumble of too much fiction, few facts and zero speculation" and Estevez "a mediocre filmmaker."
Michael Medved
Michael Medved
Michael Medved is an American radio host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle, Washington-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S...
, who was in the Ambassador ballroom (in fact 20 feet from the podium) the night Kennedy was shot, awarded the film three out of four stars and called it "intriguing but imperfect." He added, "Emilio Estevez gets most of the feelings of the occasion right. But, the melodramatic, multi-character format proves somewhat uneven and distracting."
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
said, "Estevez writes and directs with lots of passion, not so much subtlety . . . [He] wants the movie to be on the level of a Robert Altman film like Nashville but falls short."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the film one star and called it "trite fiction" and a work of "insipid ineptitude." He ranked it among the worst films of 2006, as did Lou Lumerick of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
who dubbed it "ambitious, but utterly wrong-headed trivialization."
Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama (nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
("Never Gonna Break My Faith" by Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Eliot KennedyEliot KennedyEliot Kennedy is an English songwriter and record producer based in Sheffield. He has worked with artists such as the Spice Girls, Bryan Adams, Lulu, S Club 7, Five, Delta Goodrem, and Lovers Electric.-History:...
, and Andrea Remanda, nominee) - Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
Biografilm Award (Emilio Estevez, winner) - Venice Film Festival Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
(Estevez, nominee) - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (nominee)
- ALMA AwardAlma AwardThe American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award is a distinction awarded to Latino performers who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field...
for Outstanding Motion Picture (nominee) - ALMA Award for Outstanding Directror - Motion Picture (nominee)
- ALMA Award for Outstanding Screenplay - Motion Picture (nominee)
- NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture:Performers that earned or won Academy Award nominations:*1. Denzel Washington- Glory*2. Djimon Hounsou- In America*3. Morgan Freeman- Million Dollar Baby...
(Harry Belafonte, nominee) - Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast (winner)
- Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Breakthrough Actress (Lindsay Lohan, winner)
- Phoenix Film Critics SocietyPhoenix Film Critics SocietyThe Phoenix Film Critics Society is an organization of film reviewers from Phoenix-based publications.In December of each year, the PFCS meets to vote on their Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for films released in the same calendar year.Categories of awards include:* Best Actor The Phoenix...
Award for Breakout Performance of the Year - Director (winner)
See also
- 2006 in film2006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
- Cinema of the United StatesCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
- List of American films of 2006