Film
Bringing Up Bobby
A scrappy con-artist and her sharp kid try to go straight in small-town Oklahoma, but her past keeps tangling their fresh start. It's a tonal oddity—part crime caper, part maternal drama—that swings between lightness and genuine stakes. For people who like their comedies a little rough around the edges, with real consequences underneath the charm.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like a scrappy caper about charming rogues, where warmth and a little mischief matter more than plot mechanics and the tone stays light.
Skip it if you need airtight plotting or sharp, cutting humour, since this is gentle, episodic and more amiable than genuinely funny.
What it asks of you: A brisk ninety-five minutes, with light, loose scenes that move from one scrape to the next and need little more than easy attention.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Juno2007
A fiercely intelligent young protagonist who sees the world clearly, paired with an unconventional parent figure who loves her absolutely. Sharp dialogue, real heart, and the kind of relationship dynamic that matters most.
But The indie-film whimsy occasionally overshoots what the story actually needs. Some moments feel like they're performing quirkiness rather than earning it.

Hustlers2019
Women conning their way through a system rigged against them, with genuine affection between the characters anchoring the heist energy. It finds the humanity inside the scheme.
But The tone swings between comedy and crime drama, and those tonal shifts don't always land cleanly. Some viewers wanted either grittier or lighter.

Krisha2016
A mother and son's relationship as the emotional core of a story about starting over, with nonprofessional actors bringing raw authenticity. It finds poetry in survival and small choices.
But Deliberately paced and elliptical. If you need a clear plot arc with satisfying resolution, this will frustrate you deeply.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bringing Up Bobby
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Godless2017
A mother figure protecting her son (and herself) in a new community, but the kid is peripheral—what matters is the cost of reinvention and whether starting over means staying honest. Same emotional weight, inverted focus.
A woman hiding her past in a town run by women, complex morality, beautiful cinematography, and genuine stakes. Pulpy but seriously executed, seven episodes of tension and character.
But It's a western miniseries that demands patience. If you need constant action and traditional narrative momentum, it will feel slow.

More like this (7)
Paper Moon1973
A con-man father and his daughter hustle their way through Depression-era America with witty banter and genuine warmth. A classic for a reason—the relationship is what matters.
But Black and white, deliberate pacing, and very much a product of the 1970s. Modern viewers sometimes find it slow.

Moonlight2016
A boy growing into manhood with different mentors shaping who he becomes. Three chapters, three eras, all focused on the people we depend on and why they matter.
But Extremely quiet and internalized. If you need dialogue and plot momentum to stay engaged, this requires a different kind of attention.

Booksmart2019
Two brilliant young women navigating the gap between who they think they are and who they actually are. Funny, kinetic, and genuinely interested in its characters' interior lives.
But Very reliant on a specific comedic tempo that younger viewers will love and others may find exhausting. Also very much a product of its moment.

Captain Fantastic2016
A father raising his kids outside society suddenly thrust back into the world he rejected. Explores unconventional parenting, resilience, and the gap between values and reality with both humor and depth.
But Whimsical-bohemian aesthetics sometimes undercut the darker material. Tonal inconsistency is genuinely a problem.

The Florida Project2017
Children finding joy and invention in the margins, with an adult (the motel manager) as an unlikely guardian figure. Beautifully shot, genuinely moving, lightly comic.
But The documentary realism can feel slow if you're expecting traditional story structure. It's about texture and feeling more than plot.

Tangerine2015
Two trans women navigating Los Angeles with sharp talk and genuine love underneath the survival hustle. Funny, fast, alive, shot entirely on an iPhone and somehow it's cinema.
But Abrasive energy and language throughout. The film doesn't soften anything for comfort, and some moments are genuinely difficult.

A Prophet2009
A kid forced to grow up fast in a world of survival and performance, developing skills that could ruin them or save them. Same core question: what does it cost to protect someone you love by teaching them the rules of the underworld?
A young man becomes a survival genius inside prison through intelligence and cunning, without ceasing to be fundamentally decent. Extraordinary filmmaking, genuinely great, and absolutely gripping.
But French with subtitles, brutal violence, and extremely long at 155 minutes. Also structurally a coming-of-age story inside a criminal world—not a typical crowd-pleaser.

People
Cast
Milla JovovichOlive
Spencer ListBobby
Bill PullmanKent
Rory CochraneWalt
Marcia CrossMary
Lauren AnallaDarlene
Don KruizingaCar Salesman
Dalton OliveEarl
Ana AndersonDet. Winters
Renata BatistaMaid
Brandon E. JacksonInsurance Agent
Robin BrooksParking Lot Guy
Directing
- Famke JanssenDirector
Writing
- Famke JanssenScreenplay
- Cole FratesStory
Production
- Michelle De LongCasting