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Bringing Up Bobby

Play trailer Poster for Bringing Up Bobby 2009 1h 33m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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17% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 34% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A young boy is forced by his brother to examine his faith and believes while dealing with his parent's will.

Critics Reviews

View All (12) Critics Reviews
Jeannette Catsoulis New York Times [Its] downfall was ensured by a leading lady who will always be more credible chasing zombies than the American dream. Rated: 2/5 Sep 27, 2012 Full Review Joe Neumaier New York Daily News Actress Famke Janssen wrote and directed this half-spiky, A-for-effort dramedy about a grifter mom struggling to raise her preteen son on the road. Rated: 2/5 Sep 27, 2012 Full Review Frank Scheck Hollywood Reporter Milla Jovovich delivers an over-the-top peformance in this melodramatic tale of an immigrant con artist and her juvenile delinquent son. Sep 27, 2012 Full Review Amy R. Handler Film Threat Bringing Up Bobby is strongly recommended for both young teens and adults. It is a film that will help all of us survive and move on, in the beautiful yet uncomfortable world of our own making. Rated: 4.5/5 Jan 11, 2013 Full Review Todd Jorgenson Cinemalogue ... a mess filled with condescending stereotypes, unlikeable characters, earnest melodrama and references to old movies that are better. Sep 28, 2012 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Stumbles through scenes without a consistent tone, hoping to shape something meaningful out of its display of misguided parenting. Janssen just doesn't have the vision to achieve it. Rated: C- Sep 28, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (18) audience reviews
Frances H Dramatic story of a mother who must decide what is best for her child. Well-acted, but familiar plot. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/09/16 Full Review Audience Member I kept wondering where it was going, and it ended before it really came to a conclusion. I looked at the screen and thought "Oh wow, that would be dumb if this is where it ends" and then the credits rolled. I only watched it because it took place in my home state, where good people quote the bible and bad people smoke weed and live in train cars. Bobby was pretty unlikable and he didn't really grow much, and by the time some growth happened with Olive, the movie was over. Oh well. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member There was nothing wrong with Pullman's performance. His character was a little lackluster, but I believe that was a script or story problem. Jovovich, however, was a different story. Everything about her performance seemed forced, even ridiculous at times. http://trust-the-dice.blogspot.com/ Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review chris h Many questions arise from watching "Bringing Up Bobby". First of which, why did actress Famke Janssen decide to write, direct, and produce this film as her first directorial venture? A somewhat successful actress in her own right, you would assume either this was a passion project of hers or something she felt very strongly about. But the premise of the film sees a European ex-con artist, trying to raise her son while on the run in the United States. Stated on Wikipedia, the idea was inspired by her own perceptions of the United States, after moving here from the Netherlands in 1984, but why it is handled in such a haphazard and non-cohesive way is still up for question. Another question arises of why Milla Jovovich, another somewhat successful actress, would sign on to star as the lead in this film? Having been born in the Soviet Union, you would also imagine she could pull off a Russian accent, but unfortunately, she cannot, as it comes off muddled and over exaggerated. The biggest flaw of the film is the lack of empathy created for any of the paper-thin characters, as they are all unlikeable in one way or another. With no real direction to speak of, you have to wonder where this came from and who it was meant for. Why some actors decide to become directors is beyond me, but with a first showing like this, there is no where to go but up. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review walter m In "Bringing Up Bobby," Olive(Milla Jovovich) has just stolen a car but will have to wait to a few days for payment from her friend and fence, Walt(Rory Cochrane). In the meantime, she meets with every religious person in Oklahoma while her son Bobby(Spencer List) struggles in school. So, she makes a deal with him to raise his grades, just before tragedy strikes... With the exception of Bill Pullman's easygoing charm as its sole saving grace, "Bringing Up Bobby" is a slapdash and amateurish movie. Otherwise, the performances mostly consist of cartoon accents which is a shame because Milla Jovovich proved she can act when she held her own previously in "Stone" with Edward Norton and Robert De Niro. With "Bringing up Bobby," the contrived story has little going beneath its rough surface in taking so much time in exploring how bad a mother Olive is when in fact it could have gotten quite a bit darker in exploring her questionable motivations. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This film doesn't seem to be very popular, but I really enjoyed it. Cartoonish on the surface, it's really quite moving in the end. Excellent performances, well-written and directed. Visually attractive, and surprisingly thoughtful. I think that female-focused films will always have a harder time critically, plus this is a Eurocentric view of America which probably didn't go down too well in the heartland. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Bringing Up Bobby

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A young boy is forced by his brother to examine his faith and believes while dealing with his parent's will.
Director
Chris Staron
Producer
Chris Staron, Nick Staron
Screenwriter
Chris Staron
Production Co
Glowing Nose
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 9, 2017
Runtime
1h 33m