Bobbie's Girl

The charm of "Bobbie's Girl" isn't so much in the story as in the telling. A sweetly sentimental slice-of-life feel good flick from Showtime, the film tells of a middle-aged lesbian couple operating a tavern on the coast of Ireland who unexpectedly find themselves with the yin-yang of a wee lad and the "Big C" in their midst. The film offers fine performances from a core cast of four who fully flesh-out their characters making for an easy emotional buy-in. Those who have become used to the usual exaggerated dramatic film fare may enjoy the soft-peddled delivery of this lilting, life-affirming drama while others may regard it as uneventful fluff.

Note - Those who might be turned-off by the same-sex relationship at the center of this film should know that the lesbianism is very understated and tastefully presented.

I expected a Made-for-TV-type movie here, but got a much richer and far more touching story. A little boy is taken in by two women in Ireland when his parents die - and one of the women soon finds she has breast cancer. She isn't exactly naturally maternal to begin with, and having to deal with breast cancer makes her even less able to make the child feel loved.

The story doesn't attempt to make saints of anyone, and as such it feels very realistic. Thomas Sangster as the little boy puts in a marvelous performance that makes the film the most moving portrayal of a child since Britain's "Hollow Reed." It is a beautiful film about responsibility, life and death which anyone can relate to.

After the death of his parents a 10-year-old orphan is sent to live with an aunt he's never seen, a brusque woman in a lesbian relationship who lives in a gay bar she owns. Not everybody is thrilled with the assignment, especially the boy's grandfather, but surprisingly little is made of community disapproval. Instead, the focus is on the relationships among the various characters. Luckily, the writing and acting are outstanding, especially Rachel Ward and Bernadette Peters as the lesbian partners and, in the best role I've seen him in, Jonathan Silverman as the gay "uncle", who works in the bar. The fact that the boy is also working in a gay bar, and apparently will be growing up there, doesn't seem to bother anybody, least of all the boy. Thomas Sangster, the 11-year-old actor who plays the part, gives a highly intelligent and affecting performance. Perhaps it's in his genes: he's the cousin of Hugh Grant.

Okay - not a bad movie, but two major exceptions:

1. (Unfortunately) Lesbianism is still very underground in Ireland, and even more so in a suburban/rural town like Bray - so it's unlikely that that part of the story would have flown. And even more so the wedding at the end of the movie.

2. I grew up in the town this was filmed in, and went to school in Dublin. I met a total of one Jewish person over 21 years. There just aren't any! Ireland is 99% Catholic, although Bray is known to have a large population of Protestants, many from the North. But Jews? Sorry, no.

So, I came to the conclusion that the writer/producer Samuel Berstein (obviously Jewish, but obviously not lesbian!) just took his generic story and transplanted it to Bray. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see another film set in Ireland, but a bit of reality needs to be tempered in these cases - maybe that was offset by the American/English characters, but even then the English Jewish population is pretty small, too (except in the movie business...) For the record, I am anti-racism and pro-equality (& reality)

The quality that makes this movie such a joy to watch are the relationships between the primary characters. The relationship between Bailey and Bobbie "feels" real. Both Ward and Peters convey the familiarity of long established relationships. A tacit acceptance of the good qualities and foibles that all couples deal with in each other.

I had never seen Sangster in any films before this. I was deeply impressed with the abilities of an actor so young to convey complex feelings without words. Dread and hope expressed side by side. His attempts to bond with his aunt and Bailey are artfully portrayed, with just enough success and frustration to feel genuine.

As the uncle, Jonathan Silverman provides a balanced portrayal of self effacing humor and sensitivity. In the character of Uncle David Allen is able to see that other ways of living that are completely alien to his very proper British up bringing.

A warm and hopeful film. It's characters, their relationships, and the personal growth that occurs in each of them make it a genuine joy to watch.