“If you’re lucky enough to have an incredible family that’s accepting and open-minded [and you get to have a] chosen family, that’s the ultimate privilege”
BY NIC CROSARA
By the time the credits roll on the heartwarming indie film Bob Trevino Likes It, my face is puffy from uncontrollably crying. It’s a rare film that manages to break your heart while also healing something deep inside of you, and offering plenty of joy and laughter along the way. Most of my tears can be credited to Barbie Ferreira’s incredible performance as the aimless and insecure 20-something Lily Trevino.
When Barbie joins our transatlantic Zoom call, she’s immediately warm and charming. Her cat makes an adorable cameo “I have so many animals. I have a zoo here,” she laughs. For readers who have already watched the film, you’ll know this is fitting given Lily’s character arc.
Barbie is likely most known to DIVA readers through her portrayal of Euphoria’s Kat Hernandez. Fans of the actor will know she is no stranger to delivering emotionally charged scenes, but her performance as Lily is on a whole other level. What was it like for her to embody this character during the emotionally intense scenes? “Because the writing is so good, I got to be really present. As the person playing Lily, I kept my inner child out and as vulnerable as I could be and making sure I was a raw nerve at all times.”
I have never wanted to fight a character as much as I’ve wanted to fight Lily’s dad, called Bob Trevino (French Stewart). When he ghosts his own daughter, she tries to find him on Facebook but instead stumbles onto a different – and much more uplifting and supportive – Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo).
While Lily’s sexuality is never explored or labelled in the film, the way it explores chosen family is sure to strike a chord and resonate with many LGBTQIA+ viewers. And it’s something that means a lot to Barbie as well. “I grew up in a queer community in New York. My friends are my family. I have lots of friends who don’t speak to their parents because of their sexuality or gender expression,” Barbie tells me. “Chosen family resonates with so many people because you don’t get to choose who your parents are. If you’re lucky enough to have an incredible family that’s accepting and open-minded [and you get to have a] chosen family, that’s the ultimate privilege.”
She goes on to tell me about her mum, grandma and aunt and the way they have their own chosen family, mainly of Brazilian immigrants. Fittingly, some have been found through Facebook groups.
And while we’re still on the topic of queerness and chosen family, I take Barbie back to 2019, when she told Out magazine that she was “really in my queerness. I’m in L.A. living my L Word life”. I, of course, have to ask how that’s going for her. “It’s been going,” she laughs. “I think as I get older, I’m like, okay, I don’t live in Silver Lake anymore. We can’t have the L Word fantasy all the time. It can’t be all high drama. But I think it’s going good.”
When I ask about what it was like working with director Tracy Laymon on this film, Barbie praises her “full of heart” way of approaching filmmaking, especially amid a time where we are seeing a lot of IP films and remakes. “It was refreshing to see someone who wanted to make a film that was disarmingly wholesome and had such a message to it.”
“As a cynical Gen Z, who has been on the internet my whole life, it was very uncomfortable for me to be so open to love and wholesomeness and to be something that was so full of light,” Barbie adds. “I think we’re in such a dark time. Especially young people who have grown up in these horrible, devastating times. We don’t really know how to work through it. It’s really cool to just be part of something that was so full of hope.”
The film manages to end in a cathartic way, even though Lily’s problems are far from wrapped up in a neat bow by the end. “What’s really amazing about this film is that it’s not even the beginning of her journey. It’s the rock bottom that you feel when you have to make a big life-changing decision,” Barbie reflects. “She doesn’t know how to live, how to take care of herself. She doesn’t know what makes her happy, or even what she likes.”
“I hope that Lily starts exploring things to see if she likes it or not. I don’t think she knows who she really is. So it’s the start of this beautiful journey of understanding your own identity and who you are, and meeting yourself for the first time without being shrouded in trauma and shame. It’s a reintroduction of Lily to herself.”
Bob Trevino Likes It is available now on Digital Download. You can watch the trailer below.
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