Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare Review - A Bonkers True Story That Didn’t Warrant a Documentary

Written by Rosie Fletcher | October 16, 2024 |

If you're interested in topics like serial killers, con artists, cults, shady doctors, tech frauds, phony millionaires, Tiger Kings, and the outrageous disaster that was FyreFest, Netflix has plenty of documentaries for you. However, not everything is worth your time, and not every story translates well into a documentary format. This is true for Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, where an intriguing story doesn't necessarily make for a compelling documentary.

This is the remarkable story of a young woman named Kirat from the South Asian community in London. She connects with a man named Bobby through Facebook. Bobby is acquainted with some of Kirat's family members, and even though they've only met in person once for a short time, they develop a strong relationship online that endures for many years. However, as the title of the film suggests, things don't turn out as expected.

This narrative first appeared on a podcast named Sweet Bobby, produced by Tortoise Media. It’s an engaging series that spans six episodes, where Kirat’s experience is intricately narrated by the talented host, Alexi Mostrous. The story is truly astonishing (we won't give away any details), featuring an incredible amount of effort and various interconnected elements, leading to an outcome that is both shocking and quite tragic for Kirat's life.

We definitely suggest checking out the podcast. If you've already listened to it, there's no real reason to watch the Netflix documentary. At 1 hour and 22 minutes long, the film doesn't offer much new content compared to the podcast, aside from giving us a chance to see some of the people involved in person.

Deciding not to drag this out over several episodes is a smart move, especially since many Netflix documentaries tend to do that these days. Although the surprising twist is indeed shocking, it lacks a fulfilling ending because one of the main figures declined to participate in an interview.

The majority of the narrative unfolds through Kirat and her family conversing directly with the camera, alongside on-screen text, Facebook messages, audio clips, and some reenactments. It's like having someone share an engaging story right in your living room—it's entertaining gossip but falls short as a solid documentary approach.

Kirat is undeniably courageous, yet it feels unsettling to watch her revisit such a painful experience from her past. Hearing her cry over the audio clips of messages she recorded during a time of intense distress is difficult, especially knowing that she has already shared her story in detail for the podcast.

"Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" lacks the depth needed to truly justify revisiting this story. If the bar for documentaries is simply showing people sitting in chairs recounting their worst experiences, it does a disservice to the medium as a whole.

If you find podcasts unbearable but are in the mood for a wild tale, this documentary won't take up too much of your time. "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" is truly an easy watch.

You can now stream "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" on Netflix.