Bob Roberts is not merely a satirical fictional biopic, but a wry exploration of the relationship between political reality and manufactured image.
Bob Roberts (1992)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:33
Fresh:33
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.6/10
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Tim Robbins stars in his directorial debut as right-wing folksinger Bob Roberts in this satirical mock documentary. Roberts is joined on the Pennsylvania senatorial campaign trail by a British... Tim Robbins stars in his directorial debut as right-wing folksinger Bob Roberts in this satirical mock documentary. Roberts is joined on the Pennsylvania senatorial campaign trail by a British documentary filmmaker who offers insight into Roberts, his staff, and his supporters. Roberts is the anti-Bob Dylan, wowing his supporters with tunes such as "Times Are Changin' Back" and "Wall Street Rap" (which includes a video send-up of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"). With his clean-cut good looks and squeaky-clean image, Roberts appears as American as apple pie. Yet, like most politicians, he harbors some nasty secrets, including potential involvement in illegal drug trafficking and bank scandals. And like most politicians, he is a master at manipulating the media. Roberts's political trickery turns serious when an innocent man is accused of attempting to assassinate the candidate. Some of Hollywood's best appear as news anchors and reporters, including Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Peter Gallagher, and Helen Hunt. Gore Vidal is immensely believable as the liberal incumbent trying to keep his Senate seat, battling Robbins, who is the consummate politician of the 1990s: lots of fluff and not much substance. [More]
Starring: Tim Robbins, Alan Rickman, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise
Starring: Tim Robbins, Alan Rickman, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Gore Vidal, Brian Murray, Rebecca Jenkins, Harry J. Lennix, John Ottavino, Robert Stanton, Jack Black, Bob Balaban, John Cusack, Peter Gallagher, Robert Hegyes, Helen Hunt, Pamela Reed, James Spader, Susan Sarandon, Fred Ward, Fisher Stevens, David Strathairn, Kelly Willis, Lynne Thigpen
Director: Tim Robbins
Director: Tim Robbins
Screenwriter: Tim Robbins
Producer: Forrest Murray
Composer: David Robbins
Reviews for Bob Roberts
An over-strung last act aside, this is funny, brilliant and sickening all at the same time.
This Tim Robbins-helmed political satire about demogougery makes for an appropriate election-season re-release.
Snappy political satire about a 1990 Pennsylvania race for the U.S.Senate.
A very funny, sometimes prescient satire of American politics, and of the comparatively small, voting portion of the electorate that makes a Bob Roberts phenomenon possible.
Watching it might be an education for some voters, who will recognize in the movie political techniques they see being practiced all the time in real life.
A funny and dark election-year satire by writer-director-star Tim Robbins, lampooning the political right and the extremes to which some of its constituents go.
Robbins's satire is savvy and complex enough to send mixed signals to the viewers about politics and pop culture; both Democrats and Republicans may find supporting evidence for their arguments in his picture.
A sort of political This Is Spinal Tap, Bob Roberts is both a stimulating social satire and, for thinking people, a depressing commentary on the devolution of the American political system.
Tim Robbins' documentary about singing Senate candidate is funny, scary political satire.
Admittedly, this is an uneven film, but it has a lot more pluses than minuses.
Robbins, who scripted and directed, creates more than enough on his own. Bob's un-hackneyed character is the prime case in point.
A political comedy that puts the tools of populist left wing politics into the hands of an arch-conservative and uses them to hit a bull’s-eye.
Tim Robbins inaugurates the fall season with a slashingly funny political satire that ranks with the year's best films.
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