User Reviews

Okay, make no mistake: Bob Roberts is definitely not the most subtle film ever made. It's not so much a veiled attack on the American right-wing as it is an all singing, all dancing celluloid spit in the Republican party's face. It's also as paranoid as a junkie, and almost proudly one sided, which might be why it has slipped into relative obscurity - it's a film that could be very easily dismissed as a piece of left-wing propaganda, directed by and starring Tim Robbins, an outspokenly leftist actor.

But, Bob Roberts is a film that deserves a lot more attention than it receives, largely because unlike a lot of political comedies, it's actually funny.

Bob Roberts is a mockumentary about a right wing politician/folk singer named (unsurprisingly) Bob Roberts. Roberts is a kind of anti Bob Dylan, whose modus operandi is to emulate the spirit of the folk singing radicals and then deliberately turn their message on its head - he sings songs about enforcing the death penalty on drug dealers, and the positives of investing in the stock market. Dylan provides such an obvious touchstone for the character that it's arguable the whole film is as much a spoof of the Dylan documentary Don't Look Back as it is a political satire.  The songs are a good example of what makes this film work. Sure, they're unashamedly political and barbed - they're the kind of spoofs that you'll now find dime a dozen on youtube - but they are so painfully earnest and straightfaced that they're kind of hypnotic. In Bob Roberts, Robbins has created a character who absolutely believes the terrible and terrifying things he sings about, and he plays the part with a wide eyed enthusiasm that makes you laugh, but in that oh so unsettling "I'm genuinely disturbed by this" kind of way.  The jokes are totally underplayed, save for an out of place 'before they were famous' Jack Black cameo appearance. He's the only actor who inhabits his role as if it's meant to be funny, all but giving the audience a big fourth wall breaking wink. Everyone else, however, lets the humour come naturally from the insanity of what they're saying: they don't gurn to the camera. From Alan Rickman's performance as the shadowy Big Business agent to Gore Vidal as Bob Roberts' running mate, the rest of the cast play the thing totally straight-faced.

Sure, the movie's pretty preachy, but it never becomes boring: at a lean 102 minutes, it's a freight train of a film, spitting out characters, situations, and genuinely thrilling plot twists.

Best of all is the film's ending, which is as cutting as the punchline to a sick joke. There's no messing around to this one. The conclusion socks you in the guts then carries on its way, whistling Bob Roberts' "Drugs Stink" as it goes.

This film predicts the current state of the USA. From a politician with a rebel/conservative persona who has people worshiping him and even mobilize for their cause. It seems that every named character is a recognizable face from the 90's. It's a really well made political satire like no other I've seen.

I watched this film again recently, 26 years after its' release, and it still holds up well. Tim Robbins is Bob Roberts, a right wing, Bob Dylan opposite, singing patriotic folk songs denigrating liberals. Robbins projects a JFK like charisma, as he comes across as a real American hero of the working class. His opponent in a Pennsylvania senate race is played by the late writer, Gore Vidal, in a casting coup. He warns of the dangers of fascists like Roberts to a flag waving public. History followed fiction at the 2016 election, as a reality TV star was elected president. Robbins should make a follow up to this movie.

A broad take on arch-conservatism in American politics that rings true on many levels, false on others. The songs and videos are the weak points--simple and shallow as they are, it's hard to buy that Bob Roberts could have had any commercial success at all. On the other hand, the portrayals of the newscasters and Roberts' followers are a beautiful mix of satire and truth.

There are so many broad caricatures on this film, I found myself wishing that Tim Robbins would have toned it down for the sake of believability. This film lays it on a little heavy, which keeps it from being a more important work. None the less, it is eerily more timely in 2003 than it was in 1992.

As you will read, this is a highly political movie which may be friendly or unfriendly to your political sensibilities. Keep that in mind when you read this, or any, review. ;-)

"Bob Roberts" is a hilarious and scathing satire that pokes fun at right wing politicians perhaps a little too harshly-but it's still great (and sometimes depressingly accurate) fun. If your politics are anti- Republican/conservative, than you will likely have a ball watching this movie! Right wingers may be a little offended by it, and I can't blame them all too much, since it is so critical of their beliefs, and after a shocking final twist, the main characters are all revealed to be even more scummy than they originally seemed. But, at times, "Bob Roberts" also pokes fun at the media, extreme left wingers (not sure if this satire was intentional, though, but it seems like it), and just the nature politics in general.

Tim Robbins writes, directs, and stars in this film-and does a great job, leading a cast of many fine and interesting actors that range from Ray Wise to Jack Black.

This is definitely an entertaining watch for those who agree with its politics. For others, it is perfect rage fuel.

A conservative folk singer, Bob Roberts, turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate. He sets about organising rallies, singing songs to get his message across. He is not above using dirty tricks and smears to gain an advantage over his opponent. Meanwhile, a reporter is investigating Roberts's potential involvement in a drug ring.

Written by, directed by and starring Tim Robbins, this is a brilliant satire on US politics. Quite accurate in depicting the lengths politicians will go to for power, and quite funny at times in how ridiculous they look doing it.

Very relevant, at any time. Always good to be reminded of the type of people that are asking you to vote for them.

Great ending - wonderful twist. Very powerful and profound.

A filmmaker documents the rise of right wing folk singer Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) as he runs for the Pennsylvanian Senate seat. Fringe reporter Bugs Raplin (Giancarlo Esposito) is investigating the murky connections of the campaign to drug smuggling. Lukas Hart III (Alan Rickman) is a behind the scenes operator and Chet MacGregor (Ray Wise) runs the campaign. Roberts is well connected to Wall Street inverting the rebel image. His campaign team is often trading stocks on the bus.

The aspect that bugged me most is the folk singer aspect. There is something old and tired about folk singing that shouldn't fit this concept. While I understand the corrupting of 60's idealism, it needs to bring it up to the 90's instead. Roberts never quite feels real. The movie needs him to be real. I do like Giancarlo Esposito and there is a lot in terms of skewering the political system. In general, this is a fine satire of the American political system.

"Times are changing back, times are changing back, times are changing back today...", sings ultra-right-wing politician/folksinger Bob Roberts. Grandmommies & -daddies who know just-who-the-heck Bob Dylan was might remember his song "The times, they are a-changing" — yeah, that was waaaaay back when Grandmommy & Granddaddy wore flowers, made free love and smoked marijuana to make their hair grow faster. And peace, No-to-Vietnam, civil rights and all that hot sh*t, in the year I was born (but not in the USA).

Somebody else pointed out the Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back", from which several scenes were derived — including the one where Bob Roberts and his blonde co-singer practice their hymn "We're marching for self-interest" while Bob checks his stocks on his laptop. In 1967, Joan Baez sang "Pretty Polly".

Polly, pretty Polly, come and go along with me / Before we get married some pleasure to seek

He led her over mountains and valleys so deep / Polly misjudged him and she began to weep

Sayin' Willie, Oh Willie, I'm afraid of your ways / The way you've been ramblin' you'd lead me astray

He said, Polly, pretty Polly, your guess is about right / I dug on your grave the best part of last night

I don't know much about US politics, although I sometimes wonder why they apparently have only two political parties since at least 200 years. But "Bob Roberts" is not an American movie, although it portrays the rise of a pure-bred American Hitler. Those two parties exist virtually everywhere, at least in every Western "democracy", and although they take turns every few years and have other names, the underlying power structure is the same, as their politics are increasingly the same.

This is a movie for the grassroots, a socio-political comment and a satire. It's supposed to stimulate the little gray cells, look at our leaders and our TV screens and ask, are we getting what we signed up for? What is the truth, and do I want to know?

Just watched Bob Roberts and was amazed at how relevant it is today. The backdrop here is the former Gulf War. The format of the movie is documentary style following "Bob" who is running for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania. After getting used to that format, a parade of Hollywood stars appear in various roles, but my favorite is Alan Rickmann as Bob Roberts' campaign manager. (The Karl Rove character)

At times the movie gets preachy, at times it is clever, and at times I rewound the tape to get the words to the music that Tim Robbins helped compose for the movie. If you listen, the words are pretty scary.

At a time when the country seems divided between rural and city, between the heartland and water bordering states, between religious right and progressive, this movie is a fitting satire to the game of politics. Having seen it once, I don't need to see it again. The message is clear, no need for conjecture. If you like political movies this is a must see. I give it a 7 out of 10 stars.

Bob Roberts is a cool political satire that is too clever for its own good.

I liked the movie, but more so for the dark humour and technical and visual proficiency than for the plot or message of the film. The movie's core argument is that the National Security Council is the actual seat of power in American democracy. This of course seemed insightful in the context of the first gulf war, but it feels deliciously quaint now. Almost every other piece of political satire in Bob Roberts suffers the same problem. It addresses real flaws of American conservatism, but the fact of the matter is that reality has become stranger than fiction. Not only that, but this argument is not even central in the film, or relevant. Instead, it is buried under what feels like the enumeration of all the afflictions of the modern American political right wing.

The criticism aimed at Reagan: the CIA funding war outside of appropriate democratic channels and the use of the attempt on his life to pass conservative agenda; is the only part of the movie that felt outrageous. Mainly because the movie presents it as something sinister. It paints it as a complex scheme by highly intelligent and nefarious characters. For the rest, the war on drugs, the celebrity cult, the empowerment of the evangelicals, the movie pretty much describes trends and movements that are ubiquitous. Obviously, it is unfair to judge an older movie on things it could not predict. My issue comes from the fact that Bob Roberts ties all these elements in a neat clean bow, but without understanding the underlying issues. Because, with hindsight we can see that yes for instance evangelical took control of the Republican party, but it was not done the way the movie suggests. The movie throws all these elements at the wall, but they do not really stick, because the overlaying message of the movie is the nineties slogan "watch out the Gulf War might be dangerous". To make a comparison: if the movie were about Hitler, it would address the Night of the Long knives and present it as the worst thing ever. Not saying that that was not terrible, but there were also other stuff, that (we know) were far worse.

That is mainly my problem with the film. It is its distorted reflection of reality.

Other than that, the movie is funny and smart. The acting is top notch and fun thing is the sheer amount of undiscovered star-power the film has. Also, I appreciated that it used the mockumentary format. It adds nothing to the film: it has no purpose really. However, it is nice. I took it as an additional trait of humour, the commitment to the format for no discernible reason.

At the end of the day, the movie is a product of its time. As such, it is not bad at all. However, where it achieves to describe certain trends in politics it also fails to give them underlying meaning and therefore a prescient quality.

This movie is a harrowing look at the reality of politics in the United States. The story shows how an evil man can utilize right wing themes and hot button issues to gain real power and influence the direction of this country. Robbins is great as the right wing, folk singer, businessman, racist, Senatorial candidate that is hoping to be Pennsylvania's voice in Washington. The sad thing is, as you watch the film, you see how easy it is for this horrible man to manipulate the media into getting him elected. By using good looks and off hand remarks candidates are able to steer elections in the direction they want them to go. Meanwhile, honesty takes a back seat to how well a candidate can croon a song. Truth trails behind what the media might be able to use as entertainment. The media is dazzled by fluff and sound bites, they turn a deaf ear to real issues. When I saw this film the first time, I was very uncomfortable. The film was too close to reality. Bob Roberts is a Joe McCarthy/Rush Limbaugh for the 1990's. Although they might seem harmless on the surface, they do pose real danger. This movie is important and should be seen by all voters. It tries to teach people to look at the facts and the real issues and put the fluff aside. Ahh, if only that could be done.

The commentary, literary quotes, and rambling walk through WASPy power dynamics reminds me of a Gore Vidal novel -- which makes sense, as he plays the deuteragonist

Not much as changed, regarding Tim Robbins, his left-wing extremism and his inability to articulate. I recently saw him interviewed and all he could answer - to reporter who asked him a serious question - was, "Well, YOU join the Army!" The man is a typical ultra-Liberal of the last decade: full of hate and insults, but no solutions to anything.

Never better was that presented in this lame so-called "satire," which was just another vehicle for a Hollywood Loony Left-winger to expunge his hatred of conservatives, Republicans, Christians, etc. Robbins has the conservative Republican political candidate as a little bit below Neanderthal status. Yup, that ignorant right-winger is a liar, a thief, racist, homophobic, nasty, mean, corrupt and who knows what else. (Little did Robbins know he was describing today's Democratic candidates to a tee!)

Robbins tries to disguise his heavy-handed attempts at doing nothing but ingratiating himself with the Liberal Hollywood bigwigs with some folksy songs and says all of this is just a "satire." Puh-leeze. It's obvious what the intent of the film was, and it wasn't for lighthearted laughs. If nothing else, the casting of Gore Vidal tells you something. He's not even an actor, but being a left-wing icon, he gets a role.

One thing this movie did well: it gave us a prime example of Hollywood and its extreme political leanings and bias.....and total disdain for the American viewing public, which appropriately turned thumbs down on this propaganda piece.

The focus of most of these comments has been on the film's perceived political commentary on American politics.

Let's make one thing clear: This film is a satire, not a commentary; in my opinion it's not about Republicans or Democrats, or conservatives or liberals; it is about the nature of democracies.

The point that the film, "Bob Roberts", makes can be summed up very clearly. Here is the nature of democracies: Voters choose winners over losers, champions over whiners, statements of power over statements of sacrifice. The list goes on; people prefer form over function, youth over age, presentation/entertainment over substance.

This film does transcend political lines; but in it's context, lets take a look at the specifics. Bob Roberts is electable because his message is just vague and occluded enough by his presentation, that he seems likeable. His message is not unique or original; he speaks to the elements that have always appealed to the more right-wing or fascistic elements of society; marginalization of the weak (in this case, the poor), empowerment of the common man, family values, etc.

Roberts' opponent, Paiste, is a textbook liberal; but this contest is not about left vs. right. Paiste is an educated man, and a career politician. He acknowledges the challenges in the American economy. He actually has answers to the issues; whether they are politically favorable or not is not significant. Roberts, on the other hand, says nothing about the real issues; he appeals only to the emotions of the mob, and because he uses the medium of folk music, he offends the sensibilities of liberals (both in the movie, and in its audience), because he uses the authenticity of the 60's and its messages of change, and "perverts" them to express his messages of reactionism and exclusion.

And it works.

Tim Robbins has a winner here, and this film gets overlooked because it gets dragged into these conversations about Robbins' own political views, and whether the film is making a statement about Republicans or Democrats. But Robbins says something far more universal with this film; democracies are not safe from tyranny or fascism; all it takes is a charismatic reactionary who can manipulate the interests of the press and the political interests to rise to power by appealing to the worst elements of our psyche, for entertainment, glamour, and exclusionism. Please remember that Hitler came to power by appealing to the worst aspects of the people of his nation, and was quite successful in creating much evil from that. Being part of a free nation comes with a huge responsibility; to carefully consider who we elect and what we value, and to allow those debates to have meaning. "Bob Roberts" shows us how easily we can neglect that responsibility, and how easily voters can be sold an offensive, exclusionary message, when it is wrapped up in something more attractive than what's real.

Hollywood should not make a mockery of the American political system. That's the politicians job. "Bob Roberts" is a messy satire on the American political campaign process which is shot as a pseudo-documentary. The film features a bunch of stars in bit parts, something which is more of a liability than as asset, as it follows it's stereotypical characters through the senatorial campaign duel between the ultraconservative title character (Robbins) and his more liberal adversary. Overall the flick is a good production, albeit messy, but gets lost and confused in a conglomeration of political commercials, newscasts, interviews, photo-ops, etc. In the final analysis it's difficult to see worth in this film which has no clear message and little entertainment value.

If you haven't seen this movie then stop what you are doing and watch it - immediately.

I am shocked that this movie does not get more attention as it was extremely prescient - this movie essentially predicts politicians like Donald Trump. But it was made 24 years before Trump was elected.

Robbins plays Roberts, a right-wing politician who sings Bob Dylan-like songs that are twisted around 180 degrees. He runs for the US senate seat in PA and will do anything to get elected. Many of his tactics are stunningly familiar from the 2016 election campaign.

This move contains cameos from many famous actors and it features the cinematic debut of a young Jack Black as one of Roberts' devotees.

The cool thing I noticed is how someone mentioned this being similar to the 2016 election. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think the movie "Idocracy" is the most metaphorically accurate representation of how society became but "Bob Roberts" is a decent comedy drama thats for sure. Tim Robbins did so much involvement by acting, directing, writing & even singing which is outstandingly impressive! I only gave it 7 cause it's enjoyable just not great/worthy of a 10.

"Bob Roberts" is the writing and directing debut of the very talented actor Tim Robbins. It is filmed in documentary style, telling the story of Bob Roberts, the conservative son of hippie parents who is running for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania. His message is conveyed through a series of folk songs. His albums and videos are reminiscent of Bob Dylan (The Freewheelin' Bob Roberts), but his songs have titles like "Drugs Stink" and "This Land Was Made For Me" and lyrics like "what's right is right, what's left is wrong".

It's funny to see the very liberal Robbins play a character like this. The songs, written by Robbins and his brother David, are very witty and biting and get his point across beautifully.

Bob pulls a crazy stunt near the end to try to sway voters in his direction which I'm surprised no real politician has done. James Spader does an absolute perfect parody of a news anchor. A very funny movie, particularly the songs Robbins sings. Brilliant satire. The final shot in this movie, like the one in Robbins' Cradle Will Rock, is very powerful.

This is a very clever film indeed. The performances are very classy, while music and the script make the desired points with all the punch a viewer could ask for. If I had to criticise, I'd say the film does meander a bit and lacks pace. At the end, though, I was both amused and chilled by what I had seen. I just hope there isn't too much truth in it.

If Bob Roberts were a real person I would be very scared for America, check that, one of the scariest things is that there are many people like Bob Roberts in politics in real life. This excellent mockumentary passed me by when it came out, so I was glad to discover it now.

Strong performances by the whole cast really make this movie shine, Gore Vidal is especially convincing as the incumbent senator, as is Robbins himself and the eerie puppet master Alan Rickman. The message of style over substance in politics making the news in America holds even more true today.

It's really too bad that this movie was mismarketed and essentially buried, it seems that even now it hasn't gotten the audience it deserved. The politicized nature of the content is most certainly the cause of that you can be sure.

The songs are frighteningly well put together and convicing, apparantly Robbins never released a soundtrack for fear of having them taken out of context. Anybody even remotely interested in the Mockumentary genre, or in politics should definitely check this gem out. A brilliant piece of black comedy.

This is one of those movies that gets by on supposedly having it's heart in the right place - AND the fact that it was made by members of the Hollywood elite. It is in reality a cute short film stretched to an interminable length and infused with naive, bumper sticker politics.

After the first twenty minutes the script turns into a muddled, poorly written political thriller which is neither suspenseful nor interesting. It is at this point that the movie begins pounding a lot of DNC approved, totally BS, psuedo-liberal nonsense down the audience's collective throat. I was almost waiting for someone to start talking about grassy knoll and the book repository.

I would be curious to know if and when Warren Beatty saw Bob Roberts because his film Bullworth explores similar themes in a mature and thoughtful manner. In that film Beatty shows a greater understanding of both politics and film making. I almost wonder if Beatty's film was a response to Bob Roberts because it is clearly an attack on the kind of kneejerk liberalism that characterizes this film.

It's too bad that Robbins got so much acclaim for this trite, overstuffed, student film - I think it stunted his growth as a film maker as the boring, poorly paced Cradle Will Rock clearly demonstrated.

Tim Robbins has made one heck of a statement with this film presenting politics as it really is, crooked and disturbing. The screenplay is brilliantly clever brimming with brutal honesty about the political battle in washington.Robbins plays the right-wing politician perfectly portraying a crooked yuppie business man willing to do anything to get elected to the US Senate a must see film one of the best films of the decade.

A guitar-twanging conservative with youthful looks and dark charisma launches a disturbing drive for political power in this perceptive and disturbing black comedy, written and directed by Tim Robbins.

There are lots of reasons to dislike Tim Robbins. He's a movie star. He's smug, self-righteous, arrogant, self-pitying, and rich. He's married to Susan Sarandon, the most gorgeous and vibrant mature woman imaginable. He has so much, yet consistently strikes the pose of a martyr. I tuned into this movie prepared to hate it, but came away very impressed. Whatever his flaws as a citizen or a political thinker, Tim Robbins is a gifted film maker. The musical numbers are hysterical, and the documentary style comedy is the best since SPINAL TAP. The movie keeps moving at a suspenseful pace, and the chilling ending is surprisingly convincing, understated rather than too melodramatic.

Now there are some flaws to this movie that I think merit discussion. Tim Robbins hates the Bob Roberts character he plays, hates him with a passion. Yet he strikes several false notes. Some reviewers would deny this, but Bob Roberts is clearly supposed to be an "evil" Republican populist like Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush. And that's fine. But Robbins gets into trouble by making Roberts too much like . . . well, like Tim Robbins.

Bob Roberts is a too hip. He's a Hollywood hipster. He digs folk music, adores Bob Dylan, and is entirely too cerebral and too in love with the flash and glamor of MTV type videos. Tim Robbins misses the essence of how conservatives market themselves, how they tap into (and genuinely share) the loathing the white working class feels for intellectuals and artists. Bob Roberts minces around in a white fencing suit, fencing with his campaign manager, like a proud Prussian prince. Fencing! When George W. Bush was at Andover, he named himself "high commissioner of stickball." He knew even then that fencing was worse than polo. Tim Robbins misses the point about what cultural populism really means.

On a deeper level, this movie wants to leave you in a cold sweat, like Frankenheimer's 1962 version of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. And it succeeds, to a degree. But these characters are all surface, with no depth. Bob Roberts is as cold and reptilian as Raymond Shaw, but the problem is that his evils are all political, not personal. You don't see more than a second or two of Roberts' parents and early life. You certainly don't see a maniacal mother figure like Angela Lansbury in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. There's not a hint of connection between the inner, emotional, or sexual lives of these characters and their extreme political convictions. Bob Roberts has a wife, a blonde who hangs on his arm and smiles adoringly, but we see nothing else. Married to a woman as formidable as Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins must know much more than this about marriage. But he doesn't accept the challenge. As a result Bob Roberts is a political cartoon rather than a person. And therefore the movie is chilling, but ultimately not as profound or tragic as older political films like THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.