You May Say He Was a Dreamer

Robert F. Kennedy once said “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.”

In a way, RFK never was – from what little I know about the man, it would be safe to say that was a real shame – and now, nearly 30 years after his assassination in L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel, writer-director Emilio Estevez has delivered an ambitious and slightly uneven fictional drama in which 22 characters walk through the doors of this now-gone landmark and into “history.”

The film weaves these people’s stories, but doesn’t manage to make us care enough – partly because there’s just too many of’em, and partly because it is RFK that we’re really meant to care for.

Yet in spite of its arrested development, Bobby affords some of Hollywood’s MVPs – particularly Demi Moore, Freddy Rodriguez (HBO’s Six Feet Under), Christian Slater, and Sharon Stone – the chance to knock one out of the park.

It also stays firmly on message: RFK should have been. So why wasn’t he?

I didn’t think the film came alive until the last 20 minutes, but once it did, it was something to behold and take to heart.

My Rating ***

Photo: The Weinstein Company.