Bobby

On June 5, 1968, six people were shot in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. Five of them survived, but JFK’s little brother and the leading candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination, died the next day. Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby,” focuses on the life of fictional characters in the Ambassador on that fateful day. Two main characters do seem to be based on real people who were at the hotel: Tim and Virginia Fallon, played by Estevez and Demi Moore. Many believe that they were versions of José Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney (yes, George’s aunt). The plot is similar to that of movies like “Crash” and “Babel,” where a multitude of seemingly separate stories and characters all come together in the end, usually under tragic circumstances. Although the movie was slow at times, Estevez, having come a long way since his “Breakfast Club” days, provided insight into all the main characters, allowing the viewer to feel a bond with them, no matter how slight. The cast was almost fully made up of well-known stars, such as Sharon Stone, Helen Hunt, Laurence Fishburne, Joshua Jackson, Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, Anthony Hopkins, and Elijah Wood, to name a few. Bobby Kennedy, himself, was portrayed almost entirely in real footage, and when the actor was shown, it was either from the back or the side, allowing for RFK to live on without his image being tarnished by another’s face. “Bobby” was set in the 60s, so of course, it has the 60s hair, 60s clothes, and of course LSD. In one scene, Ashton Kutcher provides LSD to two college kids who do not want to campaign door to door. This soon leads to “Louis Stevens” standing naked in front of a door, while trying to find Jesus. (I don’t know what’s with Disney child-stars these days!) Even if you do not really know who Bobby Kennedy was, it is irrelevant to the movie, as it is focused on the people at the hotel, not RFK himself. Although some of the characters are working on the campaign, many are just there to get to see Bobby and there lives go on without giving him a second thought, until his arrival gets closer. As the moment before Bobby’s assassination begins, the sound cuts out and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” starts. Seeing the emotion on the faces of the characters but not being able to hear their joyous exclamations punctured by sobs makes the scene all the more emotional. Even if you don’t know who RFK is, his assassination affected the course of American history and seeing the way it affected the people at the hotel is enough to bring tears to one’s eyes. Besides just being a powerful movie however, “Bobby” also provides a conversation starter as grandparents and some parents can clearly remember the day Bobby Kennedy was assassinated.