The
sixties was a turbulent era. Political, racial and social unrest, the War in Viet
Nam, sexism and a counter culture were just a few signs of the times in a nation
that was hungry for a hero to unite America and make everything right. It was
also during that decade that President Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated.
When Robert Kennedy announced his candidacy for the presidency in March of 1968,
he represented hope and change in a new, more positive direction. That dream for
Americans and an idealistic generation who saw him as a possible "savior"
would never be fulfilled for, as we all know, he was gunned down and killed by
a lone assassin named Sirhan Sirhan shortly after winning the California primary.
Unfortunately,
Emilio Estevez's Bobby is less about the political icon and more about a glimpse
into the lives of an assortment of fictionalized characters that were in the Ambassador
Hotel in Los Angeles that fateful day in June of 1968 when RFK was mortally wounded
only to die 22 hours later. In bringing his vision of that day back to life, Esteves,
the film's writer and director has gathered some of his best Hollywood buddies,
and his father, Martin Sheen, all renowned actors to portray some of the more
than 20 characters that represent a cross section of America in regards to sex,
culture, race and class. In no particular order of appearance the eclectic bunch
of characters that make up the various sub plots include William Macy as Paul
Ebbers, the general manager of the Ambassador Hotel. Though married to Miriam,
a beautician in the hotel salon portrayed by Sharon Stone, he is having an affair
with one of the hotel's pretty young switchboard operators, Angela, played by
Heather Graham. Christian Slater is Timmons, Ebber's Food and Beverage manager
who is fired for his racist attitude toward the kitchen staff. Jacob Vargas is
one of the kitchen staff, an angry Mexican who bumps heads with co-worker, busboy
Jose, played by Freddie Rodriguez. Both are forced to work double shifts, and
Jose is disappointed because he must give up his baseball tickets to what would
be an historical game. Lawrence Fishbourne is the kitchen's Chef, a proud black
man who spouts words of wisdom to his co-workers to help them deal with racial
prejudice. Upstairs in the hotel, we are introduced to Anthony Hopkins as recently
widowed John Casey, a retired hotel doorman who is obviously lonely and spends
his time playing chess in the hotel lobby and talking about the good old days
with friend and fellow retiree played by Harry Belafonte.
Going
upstairs to people staying at the hotel, we meet Diane played by Lindsay Lohan,
a young woman eager to marry a fellow classmate William, portrayed by Elijah Wood,
so he wouldn't be sent to Viet Nam. Martin Sheen and Helen Hunt portray Jack and
Samantha, a loving husband and his fashion-obsessed wife. Emilio Esteves cast
himself as Tom Fallon, the emotionally and verbally abused husband of aging, alcoholic
nightclub singer, Virginia Fallon played by Demi Moore (a reunion of sorts, since
long ago she was briefly engaged to Esteves). Demi's real life boy toy, er, I
mean much younger hubby, Ashton Kutcher appears briefly as a dope dealing hippie
(I didn't this ridiculous subplot) who turns a couple of young nerdy Kennedy supporters,
played by Shia LeBouf and Brian Geraghty, on to LSD. Closer to RFK, is Nick Cannon
as Dwayne, a true believer and idealistic campaign worker who works alongside
Jimmy Bobby's campaign co-ordinator played by Joshua Jackson. Rounding out the
overabundant cast of characters are a beautiful young waitress with dreams of
making it as an actress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and a Czech reporter (Svetlana
Metkina) who tries desperately to get an interview with Bobby.
According
to information I've read, it took Emelio Esteves seven years to complete this
screenplay and turn it into a film. I certainly admire his ambition and sincerity
in trying to re-create the atmosphere of that era and what was going on at the
hotel several hours leading up to the horrendous event. His use of actual archival
footage of RFK on the campaign trail and his recorded speeches that are occasionally
interspersed into the movie lend emotional impact and should bring some clarity
to today's younger generation who were not around at the time and may not realize
what he stood for. Or maybe it won't, since Bobby isn't a central screen character.
The problem with Esteves's script is although he employs a Robert Altman (who
co-incidentally passed away a week before this film was released) filmmaking style
with huge ensemble casts (ala Nashville or his most recent film, Prairie Home
Companion), Esteves' finished project is a mixture of mostly contrived characters,
and too many at that.
The
two that stand out and touch a nerve are Lindsay Lohan and Elijah Wood who truly
represent the anti war sentiments of the era and the fear of losing the lives
of young and innocent men in an unpopular war At least their storyline parallels
today's political and emotional sentiments about the war in Iraq. But, by the
end of the film we are left hanging as to how the tragic event, which took the
life of Bobby might have changed their lives, or any of the other characters'
lives. What we do follow is the whereabouts of the characters as Bobby walked
through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, and watching as many, along with
Bobby, fell victim as the result of the deadly gunshots that rang out.
Don't
buy into the idea that the various subplots interconnect like Crash. The only
thing anyone has in common is they were all present at the scene of the crime.
Many don't even talk about their political point of view.
For
a film that is named Bobby, the title comes across more as a symbol of what we
lost that day in 1968, a politician who contrasts with the political leaders of
today. The tagline comes from one of his speeches when he said he "saw a
wrong and tried to stop it… saw suffering and tried to heal it….saw
war and tried to stop it." Those were words from a politician whose potential
was never realized when his life was cut short. Emilio Esteves' heart might be
in the right place, but his script results in a missed opportunity to evoke a
story about the man with peripheral characters as a backdrop, rather than vice
versa. As I left the theatre I thought about how disappointed I was with the film.
Like the politician, the potential for greatness was there, but it didn't come
to be.
We want
to welcome a new writer to our stable - Las Vegas mover and shaker, and founder
of the influential website theflickchicks, Judy Thorburn. No one has her finger
more smack dab in the center of Las Vegas entertainment scene than Judy and she's
been a great friend of zboneman for several years. We're excited to have her on
board.
