User reviews

If you're from that era (70s-80s) I believe you'll like the movie more for your memories of the DeBarge's (Bobby, Switch, El,...) will carry you through. I watched the entire movie in almost one sitting, which means it kept my interest. And yes some of the actors weren't Oscar Worthy:) and though the clothing, hair, and vehicles too were accurate those wigs looked like OUR actual hair back then AFTER you awoke after an allnight bender:) And I must have forgotten James (DeBarge) went full BarKays with his hair back then:)

The poster(s) that suggested this should've been done similar to NE (Temptations too) is right on the $$s. But I bet they couldn't because it'd priced it out of production (music rights alone:)) but clearly that's why this movie came up short.

And another reason they may not have ventured into more time/detail, they'd had problems keeping it PG13. The trials and tribulations of Bobby and his family are downright biblical and not in a good way. The books and TV bios cover it in all its horrid detail, ironically very entertaining, just not pleasant.

Summary, IF you're of that time and/or a fan of Switch, DeBarge,..worth checking out Bobby's Story.

I gave it a 5 because it's not good, but it's not terrible.

I did learn alot about the family, but it seemed that all Bobby's character did was argue about his Dad, and then when he went to see his siblings all that existed was arguments.

I'm sure there were a lot of movies about families that have had good relationships go down the drain but this one just seemed like I was watching more than one movie.

I do agree with the wigs criticism...what is it about these movie with bad wigs...who is he Tyler Perry?!

Anyway, the actor who played Bobby was pretty good. I feel like this was a late draft that was rushed into production and maybe they rewrote it more while filming.

I think the great Bobby Debarge needs a better deal. This movie seemed straighforward but still lacking.

The Positive: I am glad that some Black actors had the opportunity to work

The Negative: (1) hideous wigs (they have a life of their own); (2) a disjointed story with more holes than a piece of swiss cheese; (3) Poor editing...the story was all over the place (4) Poor script -- I don't think the actors had much of a story to work with.

I was a huge Switch fan in the 1970s. After I watched the movie, I was left asking "What did I just watch"? May Mr. DeBarge rest in peace, because he didn't seem to have any during his life.

I feel that this movie was a bit short for my liking. Perhaps it could have been 2 hours long. For one thing, it fails to give the viewer a glimpse of Bobby DeBarge's relationship with his band mates Switch. It came across as a DeBarge film more than simply the life of Bobby DeBarge. However, this is not to state that one ought to have removed family members entirely considering that DeBarge would not have existed without Bobby DeBarge's input. Still, I feel that it could have been better.

This telling of the story of Bobby DeBarge was literally all over the place. Even when I hit rewind on a couple of scenes I was left saying, "wait, did I miss...". The sequencing was absolutely awful. If you didn't know the story of Bobby Debarge you still wouldn't clearly understand based off of this movie. In their defense, I think they tried to squeeze too much information into the tiny time slot that then got further reduced by numerous commercials. I would like to see it retold in the same way the New Edition story was told over a series of days. This movie did not provide a clear overall picture of the family. Why not do a DeBarge story in its entirety; a mini-series?

I'm going to skip over whoever is responsible for the wigs in this movie because that would be an entire paragraph on its own.

I wasn't even gonna watch this, but I was curious if it would too that Michael Jackson movie with Flex. 😀.....it came close. Horrible acting, and those wigs were awful. At least they got the music rights

Bobby my love, you deserve so much better than this! I pray you get it one day. This was not it. I'm all for our people getting work, God bless the actors. The story should have least been a mini series. And don't even get me started on those wigs, the fake looking wigs which I noticed a lot of people commented on, took away from the realness of the story. It was like people were playing dress-up and having an awful costume party and they didn't even tell not even 25% of what Bobby went through and shared only 10% of what his talent was.... and so many things in the movie was actually proven false so that also was a disappointment. For those who knew Bobby personally and his struggles, a lot of scenes more disappointing because it wasn't what happened, so we're not even looking at a real biography here, just something somebody threw together. And again Bobby DeBarge deserved better then this.

This movie was pretty good. I think this movie should have included more information about Bobby DeBarge BEFORE 1980. There was way too much time spent on the group 'DeBarge' and not enough time spent on the group 'Switch' with Bobby as lead singer. Bobby's drug use played an important part in the downfall of Switch. In terms of hair, the wigs could have been better. Roshon Fegan's portrayal of Bobby DeBarge was pretty good, so I wasn't bothered much by the bad wigs. I don't understand how some could give this movie a rating of 1/10 stars. For those who've not seen the movie, please take the time to watch it. If you're not too distracted by the wigs worn, I'm sure you'll think 'The Bobby DeBarge Story' is a pretty good movie.

That headline "Wasted Potential" not only suits Bobby Debarge, but also the people in charge of directing & writing the script for this movie. This movie was a mess from beginning to end. It starts off with him dying & then goes to pretty much his last show with Switch. We never see the struggles of why he left home, the group forming & him developing a drug addiction we're just put into it. I believe the biggest mistake was making it about only Bobby & trying to stretch an essentially one hit wonder into a two hour movie. It can be done like the Frankie Lymon story "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", but in order for that to happen you need talented writers which this movie didn't seem to have. In the end a lot of scenes seem to drag on only to kill time & what is there is pretty dull & boring. The characters they selected for roles such as Bobby, Berry Gordy, Janet, LaToya & Jermaine Jackson were laughable & honestly didn't fit the roles they were trying to portray. If you've ever seen the TVOne Unsung story for DeBarge then you've seen a better version of this movie. Because all they did was touch on that, but never fully tell the stories. In the end you never feel like you went on a proper journey to learn this person due to bad writing & story telling.

This movie was terrible, from the story line to the bad wig worn by the main character playing Bobby. I was really looking forward to a DeBarge movie, especially after seeing how well the New Edition and Bobby Brown movies were done. But this movie should be thrown in the trash.

The acting was terrible. Even the continuity in this film was all off. The actual Bobby DeBarge story is a sad and beautiful story, But this film makes it look like a joke. My four star rating was being very generous.

You never know the pain that you experience as a child can carry thru a LIFETIME. Bobby had real talent and him and his family had real pain. excellent performance from the lead actor. Job very well done. A well done made for TV project. Must see

The movie is trash , they absolutely Chose the wrong people to play in the movie the guy from shake it up if definitely a NO , Disney is his thing not real tv Sorry.

Typical crackhead wack acting! Sounds like an all girl group!!!

This so called crap is a laugh. The cast can't act and the one playing Bobby is over the top. None of them look like any of the debarge family, and the wigs are horrible as is the lip syncing. The rest of the cast are also bad and look nothing like the real people. Also the father didn't die until 2009, they all could have still pressed charges against him. Is there any real proof of the molestation except for their word. This movie is a joke and a bad one at that.

As a fan of the family and legendary group I found this embarrassing. My heart goes out to the Debarge family for having to watch this spoof. The excitement I had when I 1st stumbled upon this movie was quickly snuffed out the moment I took a glance at who they had playing the lead role and I couldn't watch beyond the initial lip singing scene. I couldn't believe what I just saw!! Its almost like they were making fun of the man and the Debarge family. They were all a beautiful good looking family, but the whole cast looked funny (literally) and the wigs were over the top bad!! Being a Detroit native; this upsets me even more. I have family that grew up with theirs and have history and this movie is unreal!! No wonder its on Tubi. If you're a fan of Debarge please do yourself a favor and watch the episode of Unsung instead of this mockumentary for a better tribute and depiction of the family.

Pros: Bobby Debarge is recognized

Cons: The depiction of Bobby Debarge.

I'm not sure why the bad reviews everywhere but I thought this movie was great! The acting, costume, score, etc, all well done! This wasn't my era but it sparked my interest & I really liked it! Yes, I've heard of them & know their songs but I never really knew their history nor Switch! What a freakin sad story, watered my eyes! A must see!

I know this was a low budget movie, but dam?😂😂. The wigs are horrible and so is the casting. They could have took the time to really cast bi racial people who don't have to wear those hideous wigs.

The only thing they got right was the music (barely). So much potential... but this movie totally missed the mark. The acting was horrible. The costumes were even worse.

Speechless, ok one word, AWFUL!!!!!! Ok here is another ATROCIOUS!!!!!!

Bobby Debarge deserves a DO OVER!!!!!! That is all, I have to say.

This movie was not very well acted and it did little to provide insight into the life of a family who was tormented by their father.