"I taped Larry Lester's buns together."

Emilio Estevez is a pretty big deal in my life. Well, in my childhood memories which is also a big deal. You see, I think I've seen The Breakfast Club at least 50 times. I can recite most of the dialogue. So last week when I saw Emilio in person, all I could do was think of Andrew Clark, the wrestler who was just trying to win the approval of his dad. (That and, DAMN he's short! Shocking I know.) But he wasn't talking about that movie nor did he mention Molly Ringwald or the brat pack. He was introducing a screening of Bobby which is the new movie he wrote and directed. I don't know if you've seen another film written and directed by him called Men at Work, but it is a serious guilty pleasure for me. I knew Bobby couldn't live up to those standards but I was hoping to enjoy it.

Here's the thing...all feelings about the film aside, I'm just happy for Emilio. You can't help but be. He gave this heartfelt speech before the movie and you can just tell that he CARES so much about this movie. He's so earnest. He's worked thousands of hours writing it, shooting it, and editing it. He really believes that this is an important film and that the death of Bobby Kennedy changed this country forever. He is MOVED. He CRIES on talk shows. I mean, how can you not root for this guy? The problem is that the movie isn't that good. In some ways it reminds me of Crash with all of the different characters and storylines and the racism aspect, etc. But as much as I disliked that movie, at least I would admit that it was well done. The cinematography was excellent, the acting (for the most part) was good, etc. Bobby was not really well done and I'd say it was really uneven. Emilio may be earnest but I'm not sure he has, let's say, an artistic eye for direction. It's a little clumsy sometimes. The cast is insane in that every single cast member is well known. But that doesn't mean it's good. While some actors were excellent (aka Anthony Hopkins, Shia Lebeouf, Lawrence Fishbourne, Martin Sheen, Freddy Rodriguez), others looked downright bad next to them (aka Christian Slater, Heather Graham, Nick Cannon and Emilio himself).

I wish I could say this was a great movie but it really wasn't. I do think it's probably worth seeing but don't go rushing out to get in line. Instead, go rent Men At Work or The Breakfast Club.