What About Bob?




Death Therapy, Bob. It's a guaranteed cure.

Bob Wiley (Bill Murray) is a very dependent person with "problems." Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) is an uptight and egotistical psychiatrist. When Bob and Dr. Marvin meet, Bob instantly takes a liking to him. With a few pieces of advice, Dr. Marvin helps Bob get somewhat better. Unfortunately, Marvin gets progressively worse as Bob follows Marvin and his family everywhere, including to their vacation home. As Bob makes fast friends with everyone (including Marvin's family), Marvin begins to look more like a "schmuck" in front of everyone.

The beauty of What About Bob? is the almost meticulous way everything builds up. Things just keep getting crazier as Bob seems to become more normal. Starting small, it isn't long before Marvin is inevitably plotting to kill Bob. Every laugh gets harder, even as you're wondering how it can get any funnier.

Aside from that, there isn't much else. Frank Oz's direction remains so steady that it takes up most of the running time. There is a funny relationship that forms between Bob and Marvin's son Sigmund, who also is mortally afraid of death and the painful possibilities of life (like your bladder exploding).

Both Marvin and Bob are such complete opposites, and that's part of why this movie works so well. Dreyfuss shows that he is more than able at playing Dr. Leo Marvin: a fuse waiting to be lit, and Bill Murray does his thing lighting the match. With a hilarious script backing the two up, little can go wrong.

A building staircase of insanity and laughs, this is a movie just about anyone can appreciate.



-The Gnome