Great Fun
23 December 2008
What About Bob? (1991)

*** (out of 4)

Bill Murray plays the obsessive-compulsive Bob, who finally cracks and ends up following his new psychiatrist (Richard Dreyfuss) on vacation. Once at the vacation resort Bob finds himself getting better by getting closer to Dreyfuss' family but soon the psychiatrist is the one losing his mind. This film often gets overlooked and while it's far from a classic I can't help but find it mildly amusing in its own way due in large part to the two leads. This is certainly Murray's show from start to finish but all of the supporting characters set up the jokes for him but Murray is the one hitting them out of the park. Just take a look at the scene with Murray and the family around the dinner table when Murray keeps making annoying sounds. The viewer might find Murray annoying while doing this but the way the family reacts to him is the reason we see him so lovable. I think just about any actor in Hollywood, past or present, would have turned Bob into an annoying character so the credit has to go to Murray for never crossing a certain line that would turn the viewer off. Instead Murray makes him very lovable and most importantly makes him funny. Dreyfuss never really gets enough credit for his comic timing but he works very well with Murray here and the two make for some great laughs. The movie starts to run out of steam during the final fifteen-minutes and I've never been a fan of the ending but this is a nice entertainment for the family.
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