Bob Roberts (1992)

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.

Director:

Tim Robbins

Writer:

Tim Robbins

Stars:

Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Rickman

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Robbins	...	Bob Roberts
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Bugs Raplin
Alan Rickman	...	Lukas Hart III
Ray Wise	...	Chet MacGregor
Brian Murray	...	Terry Manchester
Gore Vidal	...	Senator Brickley Paiste
Rebecca Jenkins	...	Delores Perrigrew
Harry Lennix	...	Franklin Dockett
John Ottavino	...	Clark Anderson
Robert Stanton	...	Bart Macklerooney
Kelly Willis	...	Clarissa Flan
Merrilee Dale	...	Polly Roberts
Tom Atkins	...	Dr. Caleb Menck
David Strathairn	...	Mack Laflin
James Spader	...	Chuck Marlin

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.

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Plot Keywords:

political satire | folk singer | election campaign | satire | mockumentary | 

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Taglines:

More amazing than Watergate.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for momentary language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bob Roberts - Candidato ao Poder

Filming Locations:

Eisenhower Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,479,470

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Live Entertainment, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/director/actor Tim Robbins wrote a song called "Revape Amerika" for Tapeheads (1988). It was performed by Robbins, credited as "Bob Roberts". Robbins reworked the song into "Retake America", used in this film.

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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.

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Quotes

Chuck Marlin: I could use a strong finisher myself sometimes

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Crazy Credits

Towards the end of the final credits, there is a heart-shaped outline surrounding the initials EMLA, JHR, MGR & SS (SS is in the center)... These stand for Susan Sarandon, their two children together, Jack Henry Robbins & Miles Guthrie Robbins, his step-daughter Eva Maria Livia Amurri (Susan's daughter with film-maker, Franco Amurri.) This is also in the credits for "Cradle Will Rock", another Tim Robbins directed film. Thanks are given to "The Bob Roberts Dancers"...

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.98 (2006)

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Soundtracks

Beautiful Girl
Music and Lyrics by David Robbins & Tim Robbins
Produced and Arranged by David Robbins
Horns Arranged by David Campbell
Robbins Egg Music (c) 1992, A.S.C.A.P.

User Reviews

Eerily prophetic

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.