What About Bob? (1991)

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers (WGA):

Alvin Sargent (story) &
Laura Ziskin (story) ...

Release Date:

17 May 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Bob's a special kind of friend. The kind that drives you crazy!

Plot:

A successful psychiatrist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, a highly manipulative obsessive-compulsive, tracks him down during his family vacation.

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Patient | Psychiatrist | Book | Phobia

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Bob 'Bobby' Wiley
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Dr. Leo Marvin
Julie Hagerty	...	Fay Marvin
Charlie Korsmo	...	Sigmund 'Siggy' Marvin
Kathryn Erbe	...	Anna Marvin
Tom Aldredge	...	Mr. Guttman
Susan Willis	...	Mrs. Guttman
Roger Bowen	...	Phil
Fran Brill	...	Lily Marvin
Brian Reddy	...	Carswell Fensterwald, M.D.
Doris Belack	...	Dr. Catherine Tomsky
Melinda Mullins	...	Marie Grady
Marcella Lowery	...	Betty, Switchboard Operator
Margot Welch	...	Gwen, Switchboard Operator
Barbara Andres	...	Claire, Dr. Marvin's Secretary

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

8254 Scruggs Road, Moneta, Virginia, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The two buildings shown when Bob arrives at the Lake from New York are in Moneta, Virginia near Smith Mountain Lake. The blue building really was a general store and coffee shop. The red building was used in the movie as the bus station but in real life it was a produce warehouse called Moneta produce.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene where Dr. Leo Marvin is receiving a traffic ticket from a NH State Trooper, the trim on the Trooper's uniform is yellow/gold. In fact, NH State Police uniforms have green piping on the pockets and epaulets of the shirt, and a green stripe on the outside leg of the pants.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bob Wiley: I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Reel Thing (2008)

Murray Good At Being A Whack-Job

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie the first time I saw it, laughing most of the way. By the second look, Bill Murray's deliberately obnoxious-pushy character now started driving me crazy, too. No longer was it just Richard Dreyfuss being tormented. By the third viewing, I'd had enough.

Murray, "Bob," is so annoying, so irritating, that you either laugh or want to kill this guy yourself as he hounds his psychiatrist all over the place. Kudos to Dreyfuss to put up with, even if it's just acting. Murray certainly did his job well in this film. He was the perfect actor to play "Bob."

Highly recommended for one but beware "Bob" may drive you nuts, too.