BOBBY [PG-13]
Writer/director/former Brat Packer Emilio Estevez avoids waxing forensic and conspiratorial like Oliver Stone did in JFK, instead focusing on stories in the lives of a handful of Californians affected by Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy as they prepared for his 1968 campaign trail visit at L.A.’s Ambassador Hotel. Estevez may not be the first one to lament for a return to lament for a return to Camelot-era optimism — or parallel Vietnam with Iraq — but he is the most engaging so far. His cast is stellar, with a host of famous faces adding dimension to what could have been a thin and whiny affair. There is — and take a deep breath, now — Anthony Hopkins, Harry Belafonte, Helen Hunt, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Christian Slater, Freddy Rodriguez, Nick Cannon, Laurence Fishburne, Joshua Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, Shia LaBoeuf, Elijah Wood dad Martin Sheen, ex- Demi Moore and her present beau, Ashton Kutcher. Estevez, who has a small but memorable role as the long-suffering husband of a fading diva, was wise to not let anyone steal the show, skillfully balancing his ensemble to even-handedly convey the mood and character of the time instead. –Robert Newton