A conservative folk singer turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate. He is not above dirty tricks and smear campaigns to gain an advantage over his opponent.
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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>
The first three albums by Bob Roberts - The Freewheelin' Bob Roberts, Times Are Changin' Back, and Bob on Bob - were spoofs of/based on/homages to Bob Dylan's classic albums The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A'Changin' and Blonde On Blonde, respectively, including the cover photos on the first two. See more »
Goofs
In a scene where Bob gets off the bus in "Harrisburg" a police barrier clearly says "City of Philadelphia." See more »
"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?
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"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?