What About Bob? (1991)

Have watched it many times and love Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray! Its amazing to see how a psychiatrist can be so edgy! Highly recommended family movie.

Today, it's not considered polite (or "politically correct") to use the term crazy, but call Bob what he is, and that is nuts. Not in a Glenn Close "Fatal Attraction" way), but a off the beam, funny, lovable, pain in the butt nuts. Bill Murray continues his run of off the beam characters in black comedies, here playing an OCD patient who badgers his therapist Richard Dreyfuss to the point of insanity, eveb following him to his secret vacation spot, and basically stealing the spotlight with his family.Murray is likable; lovable, even although if I was in Dreyfuss's position, I might want to liquidate Murray and dump the fluid in an abandoned pond. I like comedies like this that go beyond what's considered respectable, because how are we going to handle the eccentrics in life if we don't get to experience what we might encounter in real life? This has a great cast of comics and New York stage actors, all either amused by Murray's off the wall charms or trying to keep Dreyfuss from killing Murray or a padded cell. "Airplane" stewardess Julie Hagerty is very funny as Dreyfuss's charming wife, but the balance of the conflict between Murray and Dreyfeuss is what makes this amusing, if not pee your pants, funny, although a few moments come close. Along with "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", I consider films like this modern "Road" pictures, with Murray as Hope and Dreyfuss as Crosby, albeit high on caffeine. Call this "Road to Bellevue".

"What about Bob" is one of the funniest movies ever made about people and their "analysts." The humor with the two male leads playing off one another, is very good. But interwoven in that is an obvious spoofing of the psyche professions. Richard Dreyfuss is Dr. Leo Marvin, a psychiatrist. Bill Murray is his patient, Bob Wiley. All of the roles of the Marvin family and others are played very well. And, they contribute some to the comedy. But this is really a love-hate comedy between Bob and Leo. The IMDb Web site and some reviewers give information about the various actors first sought or preferred for the main roles, especially that of Dr. Marvin. I couldn't see Woody Allen, Robin Williams or any other actor in that role, because they are of the same comedic ilk as Bill Murray. The comedy works only because there is a clash of characters. There has to be a straight man in this case, and I can't imagine anyone playing that role better than Dreyfuss does here. There's also considerable discussion of the dislike for one another between the two leads during the filming. That's all the more in favor of the match. Murray's role is very funny, as we would expect of Bill Murray. But much of it is only effective because of how it affects Leo. Dreyfuss shows his wonderful acting talent in the role he plays. It's a much more challenging task than that of Murray. This is a film of mostly crazy situations or encounters that lead to laughter. It has a few witty lines of dialog tossed in here and there. One of my favorite – and the proof that this film is a satire of the psychoanalysis fields, is when Leo and Fay step aside to talk privately. She asks, "Why are you so hostile to the man?" Leo replies, "Because he's a patient." Reading between the lines, that says that doctors and other analysts are supposed to be hostile to the patients who come to them for help and healing. I laughed out loud at that one. Much of this movie was shot in Virginia where Smith Mountain Lake stood in for New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee. The scenery shots are beautiful. Other viewers in the Trivia section and in comments point out the differences in trees especially between the two locales – of southern Virginia and central New Hampshire. Most adults and older children should find this film enjoyable.

Successful psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) goes on vacation with his family, only to be followed by a kooky patient named Bob (Bill Murray). Much to Leo's frustration, his family welcomes Bob with open arms. Amazing performance by Murray. Dreyfuss does well with a rather unlikable part. I have to admit some of the comments I've read here seem like hyperbole to me. I mean, I wouldn't say this is Bill Murray's best performance by a long shot nor would I say this is one of the funniest movies ever made. Unless we use "one of" in a very broad sense, in which case every good comedy is one of the funniest ever made. The point is that exaggerated praise can sometimes harm a perfectly good movie because people read these reviews and think this is going to be Airplane! or Duck Soup or something, only to find it's just a funny movie that is not the defining moment for anyone involved. It's good and it gets better as it goes along but please keep expectations reasonable. Nobody is reinventing the wheel here.