*Bob Trevino Likes It* is a refreshing film in many ways - the most prominent of which being its focus on how making a single friend can make a deep impact in one’s life. Not many films have an empathetic soul like this film, and it’s for that reason that it stands as my favorite film of 2025 so far. // *Image: Roadside Attractions*

It’s easy to be cynical about the way that technology and social media have impacted our mental health, our self-worth, and the quality of the connections we build with others. Often, this cynicism is justified. After all, it’s unmistakable that social media has put us in an environment that goads us to compare ourselves to others, enforcing negative thoughts about ourselves in relation to other people. This, in turn, informs feelings of loneliness and the inability to belong with others. This is a real issue that continues to impact a massive portion of society and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

However, it’s perhaps unwise to let cynicism entirely guide our opinion about the way that technology informs the way we communicate and build connections. While there are plenty of reasons that the internet and social media have degraded aspects of social behavior, it has also brought new ways to meet people. As easy as it is for this newfound online environment that we’re part of, one that the human brain was never designed for in the first place, to negatively affect our social lives, it also has bestowed upon us new ways to forge and cultivate beautiful connections with people that we may not have ever gotten a chance to meet otherwise. Many of you reading this have likely met a friend through a mutual Discord server or became partners with someone you met on a dating website. This is a new frontier of forging bonds with others and it’s one that has developed rapidly over the last thirty years. Given the newness of the phenomenon, there aren’t too many stories that depict this happening. Though, the ones that do are often informed by real lived experiences.- ones where people randomly connect over the internet and end up positively enriching each other’s lives.

Bob Trevino Likes It is one such story. This film, informed by a real experience that writer and director Tracie Laymon had, is a testament to the beauty of building friendships and trust with those around us. Bob Trevino Likes It is a deeply moving film about how two strangers meet each other after protagonist Lily Trevino sends a Friend Request to a stranger on Facebook, mistakenly thinking that it’s her father or a relative. What follows is an unlikely friendship that is as heartwarming to watch as it is enlightening to see how such a single connection completely changes how both parties perceive the value of their own lives. It’s truthfully rare to see movies depict the push-and-pull between loneliness and belonging, especially within the context of doing something as innocent yet somber as sending a message to a stranger in hopes that a productive connection comes out of it. Bob Trevino Likes It bears an empathetic soul on its sleeve, and such a thing carries the film to emotional heights that will doubtlessly stick with any viewer long after they leave the theater. Let’s talk about what makes Bob Trevino Likes It so special and why it deserves more attention.

*Bob Trevino Likes It* is a deceptively simple movie, focusing on an anxious, trauma-ridden Lily Trevino (played by Barbie Ferreira) and a humble yet quietly sad Bob Trevino (played by John Leguizamo) fostering a supportive, positive friendship that makes both of them feel less alone. The straightforwardness of this premise gives the film a remarkably focused direction, giving rise to great emotional beats. // *Image: Roadside Attractions*

Bob Trevino Likes It starts with our protagonist, Lily, in tears as she sits alone, crying in a dark room illuminated by the light of a screen. This screen connects her with another person - albeit one that’s coming from an ex that’s effectively confirming that they’ve been unfaithful to Lily. In response, Lily writes her genuine thoughts before deleting them in favor of a softer response that comes off as textbook people-pleasing. This introduction to the film’s protagonist tells us everything that we need to know. Lily is an emotionally troubled woman that has faced verbal, emotional abuse throughout her life and constantly copes with it by being overly accommodating to others and apologizing for simply being herself - all in a blind hope of being more accepted by others. This is confirmed not long after in a scene where Lily is with her father, a misogynistic man that clearly cares only about himself, as he constantly ignores Lily’s cues for emotional support in favor of unveiling his selfish dating plans. Despite her father not reciprocating, Lily makes an effort to fully invest herself into the goings-on of her father’s life. In just a few scenes, Bob Trevino Likes It succeeds in creating a protagonist that feels remarkably sweet on the surface yet is consistently crying out for help through her subtle mannerisms and dialogue. This is compounded by Barbie Ferreira’s fantastic lead performance - one that balances subdued sorrow with suppressed excitement. Lily absolutely feels like a real person that, while consistently attempting to bury her emotional trauma with sweet behavior, consistently succumbs to a lonely pain not seen by other people. She makes for a remarkably human protagonist thanks to the excellent work put into her writing, direction, and performance.

After being forcibly cut off by her emotionally manipulative father, Lily navigates a traumatized, lonely life in a way that feels stunningly grounded. When we hear the word “lonely”, we may have a certain image in our head - often a variation on the idea of a person sitting beside themselves, separated from a cluster of people in the same room. In the Information Age, though, loneliness has taken different appearances. The form of loneliness that Bob Trevino Likes It puts a particular spotlight on is that of “screaming into the void” posting. We’ve all seen instances of this to some extent. We’ve all seen occurrences of people pouring their souls into YouTube videos that get a handful of views or in social media posts that get no engagement whatsoever. Whenever we see these instances, it’s often easier just to scroll on instead of choosing to give the person in question the interaction they’re clearly longing for. This has become part of human nature in this unprecedented era of technology dominating our lives, and it’s this very aspect of social behavior that lies under Bob Trevino Likes It’s microscope.

Lily often puts out social media posts that get no responses or comments, only making her thoughts, all of which are visibly desperate pleas for connection, get thrown into the void. It’s in the face of this reality that Bob Trevino, brought to life by a muted and subtle performance from John Leguizamo, decides to message Lily after she sends a Friend Request to him. Often being the only one that engages with her posts, Bob offers the humanity of connection that he recognizes that Lily is clearly searching for. Over the coming days and weeks, the two strangers build a healthy, supportive connection - something that both of them need in their lives perhaps without fully realizing it. What comes out of this is a heartfelt, wholesome, yet believably imperfect friendship.

What makes Bob Trevino Likes It such a special film is the genuine chemistry between the film’s two leads that convince the audience of the connection between its characters. There are various difficult conversations that take place between Lily and Bob. These conversations consistently center around loss, emotional trauma, and a lack of belonging. Despite the heaviness of these subjects, the film’s tight screenplay sees characters meaningfully engaging with and responding to these deeper subjects in ways that feel natural and thoughtful. In one particularly heartwarming scene, we see Bob make a detailed effort to directly address a sorrowful memory of Lily’s that relates to dogs. This scene makes for one of the most emotionally resonant parts of the film not just because of the remarkably empathetic gesture that Bob goes through to make Lily feel better, but in the relief that it wordlessly provides to Lily’s soul.

Of course, Bob Trevino Likes It isn’t an entirely heavy film. The film smartly balances the darker aspects of its subject matter with humorous moments - particularly ones that showcase the quirkier sides of Lily’s personality. Likewise, Lily and Bob are vastly different in the way they express themselves. While this gives rise to strong dramatic moments, it equally creates believably warm comedic exchanges that help make the film consistently feel like a well-realized depiction of how humor can help us cope with the emotionally challenging aspects of life.

The emotional core of *Bob Trevino Likes It* is the genuine connection that is forged between Lily and Bob. Lily’s life completely transforms as she is finally able to bear her soul with someone and not feel as alone. Lily’s relationship with loneliness and connection is a heartfully realized one, creating a story that beautifully illustrates that life is always brighter when we get to surround ourselves by those that care about us. // *Image: Roadside Attractions*

The character arc that Lily goes through in this film is as powerful as it is because of the quiet commonality that her conflict will find with the film’s audience. In some capacity, we’ve all experienced forms of loneliness. We’ve all been through times where we’re not sure if the people we surround ourselves with truly care about us. In such situations, what do you do? For a lot of people, the answer to ensure that people care about you is through people-pleasing - something Lily consistently does with her father and employer. Lily’s father, someone who is far too absorbed with himself to ever deeply care about Lily’s struggles, could only ever possibly care about his daughter, in Lily’s mind, if Lily jumps through whatever hoops she has to to convince her father that she’s worthy of care, attention, and love.

Lily’s blossoming friendship with Bob proves to her that healthy relationships simply don’t work that way. If you have to jump through hoops to make someone visibly care about you, such a relationship likely isn’t worth having at all. The best of relationships, platonic or otherwise, are built on a foundation of mutual trust, respect, and honesty. All it takes is one instance of a healthy relationship built on this foundation for one to realize that any relationship not built on that foundation is one worth reconsidering having in the first place. Victims of emotional abuse are often the ones that are put in the most difficult position of being able to realize this, but through making just a single meaningful connection, everything can change for the better. Thanks to Bob serving as a pillar of support for her, Lily ultimately gains the confidence and self-worth to recognize the poor treatment her father bestows upon her. As a result, Lily goes on to lead a happier, more productive life where she finds more direction in her previously unclear future.

Bob Trevino Likes It carries with it an infectious optimism amid its heavy emotion, and that’s what makes the film so satisfying, uplifting, and sometimes heartbreaking to watch. Connection is something that dramatically transforms Lily, allowing her to become a better version of herself, and such a thing can and should happen to all of us. Bob Trevino, as a character, serves as the ultimate antidote for the selfishness and apathy that the world may seem to be filled with at times. Instead of conforming to such vices, choosing to live life as a person like Bob Trevino - a person that recognizes that connection can positively improve someone’s life and exhibiting kindness, humanity, and thoughtfulness - can make the world a better place. Such a takeaway is an inherently positive call to action for its viewers. This takeaway can also be one that comes off as heavy-handed towards its audience, and yet Bob Trevino Likes It walks a fine line where it feels like it confidently has a lot to say to its viewers without ever coming off as preachy.

The only roadblocks that prevent Bob Trevino Likes It entering the conversation of being one of my favorite films of all time is some of its more extreme elements. Lily’s father, a character we get to see a lot of in the film, often feels like a caricature of the self-centered father archetype. The emotional abuse he inflicts upon his daughter is undeniably a softer form of abuse, but it feels like the film is partially pulling its punches by making Lily’s father almost cartoonishly selfish and misogynistic. Another small issue in the film comes in the form of a plot reveal in the third act that feels like it could have been foreshadowed and led up to more. As is, this plot reveal, while transformative of the remainder of the film’s narrative, feels like it comes out of nowhere. On one hand, this can be seen as a realistic depiction of how quickly things can change in life, but it mostly comes off as an abrupt change of pace for the film’s story.

Thanks to a phenomenal screenplay, great performances, an impressively good score, and an incredibly resonant emotional core, there’s a lot to like about Bob Trevino Likes It. More than anything, this film beautifully expresses how easily our lives can change for the better just through recognizing the humanity of loneliness that we see in others. Being alone is something that is an inherently human experience, but it’s one that we’re never destined to be controlled by. If anything, Bob Trevino Likes It creates an incredible narrative that inspirationally informs its audience that the connections we forge are necessary in transforming us into better people. Living life with an open heart that’s receptive to building such connections guides us towards a better, happier future. Bob Trevino Likes It becomes a masterpiece of emotional storytelling through reminding its audience of such a thing. Likewise, the film becomes one of my favorite films of recent memory and one that I heartily recommend to anyone seeking a reminder of the pivotal role that connections play in our lives.

Final Grade: A

Thank you very much for reading! What are your thoughts on Bob Trevino Likes It? How do you feel about it representing connections in the information age? As always, join the conversation and let me know what you think in the comments or on Bluesky @DerekExMachina.com.