Rating: 
Summary: Broad Satire
Review: This movie is a satire on conservative politics. It is mean spirited, and obvious. Bob Roberts reminds me of Bill Clinton more than any conservative. So maybe the movie has an unintentional irony that makes it worth watching. It does have cameos(look for the Seinfeld connection), and it is Jack Black's first movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny movie
Review: This movie is a very funny chronicle of an ultra-conservative folk singer turned senatorial candidate. Tim Robbins wrote, directed, and starred in the movie, and did an excellent job portraying the bubbly, reactionary Roberts. Also notable in the cast was Gore Vidal, ostensibly cast as Brickley Paiste, but really pretty much playing himself (had he won his own senatorial campaign in the 1960's). Really the strong point of this movie is the songs. All are very, very funny. I honestly don't know what other reviewers are talking about when they say this movie was unfunny. Bizarre, just bizarre. One criticism that I have of this movie is the portrayal of the Democratic candidate (Gore Vidal) as some kind of saintly, totally genuine liberal. There are very few people like this in Washington, and I think Robbins missed an opportunity to show some of the more farcical aspects of the American election process. I think it would have demonstrated the lack of real choice in elections much better if Brickley Paiste and Bob Roberts had had essentially the same views. Paiste would of course package them in politico-ese, and then Roberts would expose them for their ridiculousness. Oh well. A number of other reviewers have described this movie as unrealistic, "a liberal's wet dream", etc. The movie is, of course, not realistic. It's a parody of the extreme far right in America. The scary part is that in the intervening decade since its production, this movie has not proved *that* unrealistic. Newt Gingrich can't sing, and I don't think Robbins could have predicted the idea of "compassionate conservatism." Other than that, it's a little closer to the mark than is healthy for American political life.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious! Tim Robbins at his best!
Review: This movie is for those of us who like politics and can enjoy a good laugh at its expense. Each candidate in some ways manipulates the media and Bob Roberts is a guy who pulls out all the stops and never quits manipulating the press. His stunts are far out there...or are they? and hysterical all at once. A must see!
Rating: 
Summary: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Review: This movie should not be listed as a comedy, as it's far more a drama. The good: Definitely memorable for it's creepiness, and reality that something like this can and probably has happened. The bad: it doesn't work as a documentary style film, as Best in Show or Waiting For Guffman later did. The ugly: poor acting by many members of the supporting cast. The poor acting makes it even less believable as a documentary, because nobody in "real life" acts the way some of these characters do. At times it seems that the actors are amateurs practicing the scenes for the first time. 5/10
Rating:
Summary: Starts Well, But Goes Downhill
Review: This movie starts off strong as a parody of politics in general, and conservative politics in particular. It does a good job in its parody role, too. Unfortunately, the latter part of the film gets into uber-conspiracy theories linking all of the great scandals of the Reagan-Bush years into one massive plot. I'm unsure if Robbins meant for the film imply that there was such a great linkage, but, considering its very political nature, I must suspect he does feel that there is truth behind his fictional accusations. And I've grown quite tired of claims of massive government conspiracy. So ultimately, I'd say this is worth watching, but should be taken with a grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: Tune Out
Review: Tim Robbins plays Bob Roberts a right-wing folksinger and entrepreneurial millionaire who stands as a candidate for office. The film is set up as a documentary of this campaign. The first problem is it seems little effort was put into the Roberts character, particularly his unfunny folk songs - there have been plenty of songs that were held aloft as right-wing anthems, from "Okie from Muskogee" to "God Bless the USA", these pusedo-songs almost come off as parodies of themselves. The only bright spot of the film is the portrayal of two of Roberts youthful male supporters. Looking like your typical blue blazer College Republicans they worship Bob, because in their words, "He's rich!" and are willing to go to further extremes as the Roberts campaign prepares to break all the boundaries for victory. A good premise poorly executed. For films on political campaigns you're better off with Robert Redford's 'The Candidate', for a movie about media manipulation for questionable political ideals see, 'A Face in the Crowd'.
Rating:
Summary: References to other documentaries
Review: To better appreciate this movie, it's good to know that it makes references (many, in fact) to the 1966 Bob Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back." If you haven't seen this earlier movie, naturally you won't pick up on these references (which are funny). What's interesting, though, is that at about the same time "Bob Roberts" was being made, the director of "Don't Look Back" was making a documentary (or perhaps had made ...), similar in nature to his earlier film, about Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency called "The War Room." Cinema verite, no doubt.
Rating:
Summary: References to other documentaries
Review: To better appreciate this movie, it's good to know that it makes references (many, in fact) to the 1966 Bob Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back." If you haven't seen this earlier movie, naturally you won't pick up on these references (which are funny). What's interesting, though, is that at about the same time "Bob Roberts" was being made, the director of "Don't Look Back" was making a documentary (or perhaps had made ...), similar in nature to his earlier film, about Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency called "The War Room." Cinema verite, no doubt.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest horror movie of all time.
Review: We were all told to interpret BOB ROBERTS as another "faux documentary," in the vein of THIS IS SPINAL TAP, but believe me when I say that it should be shelved in the horror section. I'm a huge fan of THE EXORCIST and the original HALLOWEEN, but BOB ROBERTS did more to instill a sense of utter dread in my soul than Friedkin's and Carpenter's opera combined. Robbins is simply brilliant in the title role -- that of an ultra-right-wing senatorial candidate who tours his home state of Pennsylvania in a bus called "The Pride," accompanied by a politically-correct mix of minority and female staff members, grabbing every conceiveable opportunity to manipulate the press and forward his campaign. Robbins imbues the role with the kind of doubletalk and charm and slippery charisma that, whether we realize it or not, drives the entire political candidacy system. That it takes us a little time to stop smiling back at him and get truly disgusted is testament to the need for this film. Perhaps the most chilling element of BOB ROBERTS is the constant silencing and/or nullification of any and all sane voices that dare to oppose Roberts and what he stands for. In a segment where Roberts -- whose fairly ingenious attempt to usurp the "freewheeling" image of Bob Dylan requires him to record and release several folk albums -- becomes the musical guest on an episode of "Cutting Edge Live" (a blatant reference to "Saturday Night Live," the program where the character of Bob Roberts made his debut during an episode hosted by Robbins), the objections of both the guest host (played by Robbins' sometimes co-star John Cusack) and one of the producers to Roberts' very presence on the show is undercut and overridden in short order by the powers-that-be, who see nothing more than the ratings to be garnered by the candidate's appearance, and nothing wrong with the ethical price being paid for such a coup. Competing with that sequence for most terrifying moment is the initial depiction of Roberts' biggest fans, a triad of future KKK or otherwise malefic militia members, average age twentyish, whose gazes are as blank and fanatical as the robotic rhetoric that clearly drives them to idolize -- and virtually drool in the presence of -- the grinning monster who even himself is disturbed by the level of the boys' devotion. The reappearance of these same boys, late in the film, rivals the most uncomfortable moments of ROSEMARY'S BABY for sheer revulsion at the abject wrongness of the nature of their worship. Robbins, the writer, producer, and director as well as star of BOB ROBERTS, had the sense to refrain from releasing a soundtrack album to this film, as the litany of nigh-satanic folk songs ("Complain, Complain, Complain"; "Don't Vote"; etc.) would certainly, out of context, become an actual anthem for precisely the kind of subhuman American consumers whom Robbins viciously attacks throughout the film -- to me, solid proof that Robbins is less interested in money than his message, proving even further that he is indeed anti-Republican. Get your hands on BOB ROBERTS. Use it as a litmus test for those around you whose political motives you doubt, or flat-out know to be problematic. If they clap along with the music and don't understand why the fictional documentarian winds up criticizing his own chosen subject, hand 'em some Klan literature and lose their phone numbers. The film is brash, courageous, important, and -- unfortunately -- timeless in this, the much-revered "land of the free." Notable supporting roles are filled by the likes of Peter Gallagher, Alan Rickman, Helen Hunt, the remarkable Ray Wise (almost as scary here as he was in "Twin Peaks"), and the incomparable Gore Vidal (as Roberts' besieged-by-press-manipulation Democratic opponent). And one more thing: watch the entire movie, all the way through the closing credits. Robbins' real message appears immediately thereafter.
Rating:
Summary: Tim Robbins, Prophet.
Review: When I first saw Tim Robbins' political satire, "Bob Roberts," I had an extremely negative reaction because of what I perceived as the film's smug humorlessness and lack of correspondence to anything resembling political reality. I still think the film isn't as funny as it should be, and is too self-congratulatory by half. But perhaps Mr. Robbins deserves to indulge in a little self-congratulation, for his political prescience is now obvious: George W. Bush IS Bob Roberts. Bush may not sing or play the guitar, but man, he sure plays to the camera--whether landing in a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier or serving fake turkey to the troops in Iraq--while dancing on our basic freedoms and international prestige with football cleats. Similarly, the sinister political adviser played by Alan Rickman now seems a perfect amalgam of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft and others in the Rogues' Gallery of the Bush Administration. And though I found the zombie-like devotion of the followers of the cold, unappealing Roberts hard to believe, it's no less believable than the fealty that millions of voters swear to Bush. Robbins' spring 2003 speech before the National Press Club--which he made in the wake of being disinvited to the 15th-anniversary celebration of "Bull Durham" because of his stand against the Iraq war--is a brilliant political document, and one that underlines the culmination of many of the dangers Robbins warned against in "Bob Roberts." So while I still don't think this is a particularly good movie from the standpoint of entertainment, its obvious political astuteness mandates my upgrading it from one star to three.
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