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Bringing Up Bobby

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Written by Jonathan Jacobs

Olive (Milla) is a con-artist with a body to die for, well almost. She is a single mother that earns a living by fleecing wealthy men, by committing grand theft auto, and by offering the suggestion (sorry for the word redundancy) that sex will be available in exchange for certain monetary favors. Olive is not a harlot, she is perhaps something worse. Her son Bobby (Spencer List) has never known order or discipline or consequences. Olive smothers him with hugs and kisses (sometimes while less than clothed) and with praise regardless of his wrongdoings. Simply put she is an enabler which is the most loving but spoiling type of parent. Throughout the film Bobby is routinely the bane of his teachers' existence; he assists his mother in her attempts to commit larceny, and he insults all of her gentlemen callers. Bobby is an idiotic and spoiled brat without a conscience.

The pivotal moment in this picture occurs when an affluent driver hits Bobby while he is skateboarding in the street. The impact of the crash fractures the young whippersnapper's legs but he is quick to recover. Naturally, Olive seizes this opportunity to begin her campaign to collect an insurance check and to extort favors, albeit civilly, from Kent (Bill Pullman). Olive goes from sinister thief to heavily-accented charmer in 0.2 seconds. She is a practiced conniver. Shortly after visiting Kent's office to begin discussing the ways in which he can help her son, Olive is arrested for one of her transgressions.

Her incarceration created a vacuum in which Bobby is either going to be sent to a foster home or relegated into the care of Olive's relatives. Seeing as she has no family to speak of, Kent and his wife Mary (Marcia Cross) petition to adopt the troubled young man and to allow Olive visitation rights as the court deems appropriate. This arrangement causes many peculiar situations that are more insipid than inspiring.

Bringing Up Bobby would be the perfect way to Bring Down Your Weekend. Avoid it like the seasonal influenza virus, just walk the other way. While it is always a treat to watch actresses digress from the beaten path, this is not one of those times. Jovovich's performance is over-the-top vexing and irritating. Stick with Resident Evil 5 and with action films Milla. Low-budget dramas are out of your league.

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