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Bob Roberts (1992) 7.0
A right-wing folk singer becomes a corrupt politician and runs a crooked election campaign. Only one independent muck-raking reporter is trying to stop him. Director:Tim RobbinsWriter:Tim Robbins |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Tim Robbins | ... | ||
| Giancarlo Esposito | ... | ||
| Alan Rickman | ... | ||
| Ray Wise | ... | ||
| Brian Murray | ... |
Terry Manchester
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| Gore Vidal | ... |
Senator Brickley Paiste
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Rebecca Jenkins | ... |
Delores Perrigrew
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| Harry Lennix | ... |
Franklin Dockett
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John Ottavino | ... |
Clark Anderson
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| Robert Stanton | ... |
Bart Macklerooney
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Kelly Willis | ... |
Clarissa Flan
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Merrilee Dale | ... |
Polly Roberts
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| Tom Atkins | ... |
Dr. Caleb Menck
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| David Strathairn | ... |
Mack Laflin
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| James Spader | ... | ||
Edit
Plot Summary
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Storyline
Documentary-style look at the fictional Senatorial campaign of Bob Roberts, an arch-conservative folk singer turned politician. This political satire includes several original songs co-written and performed by writer/director/star Tim Robbins, and cameo appearances by other stars as reporters and news anchors. Written by Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Plot Keywords:
politician | reporter | folk singer | election campaign | political satire |Taglines:
More amazing than Watergate. See more »Genres:
ComedyParents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
4 September 1992 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Bob Roberts See more »Filming Locations:
Eisenhower Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA See more »Box Office
Gross:
$4,479,470 (USA)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Music and Lyrics by Woody Guthrie
Performed by Woody Guthrie
Published by TRIO-Ludlow Music Inc.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The actors playing Bob and his two primary assistants have played United States Presidents in other films: Tim Robbins in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Ray Wise in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2000) and its extension pack Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge (2001), and Alan Rickman in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013). See more »Goofs
The film takes place in 1990, on the eve of the Persian Gulf War. In real life, neither of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seats were up for re-election that year. See more »Quotes
Bugs Raplin: The reason that Iran-Contra happened is because nobody did anything substantial about Watergate. And the reason that Watergate happened is that there were no consequences from the Bay of Pigs. They are all the same operatives, didn't you notice? The foot soldiers in the Bay of Pigs, the plumbers that got busted at Watergate, the gunrunners in Iran contra: they are all the same people. The same faces. Now it doesn't take a genius to make the connection here. A secret government beyond the ...See more »
Crazy Credits
At the very end of the credits there is the screen-filling four-letter word 'VOTE'. See more »Soundtracks
I've Got To KnowMusic and Lyrics by Woody Guthrie
Performed by Woody Guthrie
Published by TRIO-Ludlow Music Inc.
See more »
I am surprised that no one in this comments index noticed how true-to-life this film turned out to be.
"Bob Roberts" was a 1992 'mock-umentry' about the election of a Republican know-nothing (the title character) to a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania; in the movie Roberts wins against a too-brainy-to win Democrat played by Gore Vidal. The real 1994 U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania featured Rick Santorum as the Republican candidate. Santorum not only had the same aggressively anti-intellectual outlook as Roberts (I understand his staff is afraid to leave him alone with the press lest he 'throw a brick'), he even used generous helpings of Roberts' faux-revolutionary rhetoric to claim that his election would be an empowerment of the common people of Pennsylvania against a murkily-described 'elite'. In fact, Santorum, like Roberts, was a front man for an economic interest - to wit, the health insurance industry - who bankrolled 95% of his lavish campaign and which was eager to replace his rival, Harris Wolford, who was an advocate for universal health coverage. Like the Vidal character, Wolford was disadvantaged by being a genuinely concerned person whose detailed worldview found it hard to stand effectively against the style of Santorum/Roberts.
Guess who represents our state today.