Bob Roberts

Plot synopsis:
Bob Roberts takes place in Pennsylvania in 1990. It depicts a fictitious senatorial race between a conservative Republican folk singer, Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins), and the incumbent Democrat, Brickley Paiste (Gore Vidal). The film is shot through the perspective of Terry Manchester (Brian Murray), a British documentary filmmaker who is following the Roberts campaign. Through his lens we see Roberts travel across the state, performing songs about drug users, lazy people and the triumph of traditional family values over the rebelliousness of the 1960s. As the campaign continues, Paiste remains in the lead until a scandal arises involving him and a young woman who was seen emerging from a car with him. Paiste claims that she was a friend of his granddaughter whom he was driving home, but he cannot shake the accusations.
Throughout the campaign, reporter Bugs Raplin (Giancarlo Esposito) attempts to use the documentary being made about Roberts as a way to expose him to the public as a fraud. Raplin believes that Roberts' anti-drug charity, Broken Dove, is connected to an old Central Intelligence Agency drug trafficking scheme. As the election approaches, Roberts is asked to appear on a network's sketch comedy show. When Roberts announces that he will not be playing the song he had originally proposed, a dispute breaks out between the cast and producers of the show. This new song turns out to be nothing more than a thinly veiled campaign endorsement, and an angry staff member of the network pulls the plug mid-performance. As Roberts is leaving the studio, he is seemingly shot by a would-be assassin. Raplin, who has been causing problems for the campaign, is initially linked to the shooting, but he is later cleared when it is found that due to constrictive palsy in his right hand he physically could not have fired the gun. Following the incident, Raplin contends that Roberts was never actually shot and that the gun was fired into the ground.
The campaign is boosted by public support following the assassination attempt, and Roberts wins the election with 52 percent of the vote. Although Roberts claims that his wounds have left him paralyzed from the waist down, he is seen tapping his feet at a celebration party. While Terry Manchester is interviewing Roberts' supporters outside the new Senator's hotel, a boy runs up shouting, "He's dead, he's dead, they got him!" When Manchester asks him what he is talking about, the boy shouts, "Bugs Raplin! He's dead! They got him!" A joyful celebration breaks out among Roberts' supporters, the shot changes to an image of his hotel room, and an upright walking shadow suggesting Roberts' profile passes the window before the lights go out. The film ends with a radio news report about Raplin's death at the hands of a right-wing fanatic and a shot of Manchester standing in the Jefferson Memorial, looking at the words, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man", inscribed there.

Tags: cult, satire

Review:
It's also as paranoid as a junkie, and almost proudly one sided, which might be why it has slipped into relative obscurity - it's a film that could be very easily dismissed as a piece of left-wing propaganda, directed by and starring Tim Robbins, an outspokenly leftist actor.But, Bob Roberts is a film that deserves a lot more attention than it receives, largely because unlike a lot of political comedies, it's actually funny.
In Bob Roberts, Robbins has created a character who absolutely believes the terrible and terrifying things he sings about, and he plays the part with a wide eyed enthusiasm that makes you laugh, but in that oh so unsettling "I'm genuinely disturbed by this" kind of way.
From Alan Rickman's performance as the shadowy Big Business agent to Gore Vidal as Bob Roberts' running mate, the rest of the cast play the thing totally straight-faced.Sure, the movie's pretty preachy, but it never becomes boring: at a lean 102 minutes, it's a freight train of a film, spitting out characters, situations, and genuinely thrilling plot twists.Best of all is the film's ending, which is as cutting as the punchline to a sick joke.
The focus of most of these comments has been on the film's perceived political commentary on American politics.Let's make one thing clear: This film is a satire, not a commentary; in my opinion it's not about Republicans or Democrats, or conservatives or liberals; it is about the nature of democracies.The point that the film, "Bob Roberts", makes can be summed up very clearly.
His message is not unique or original; he speaks to the elements that have always appealed to the more right-wing or fascistic elements of society; marginalization of the weak (in this case, the poor), empowerment of the common man, family values, etc.Roberts' opponent, Paiste, is a textbook liberal; but this contest is not about left vs.
Roberts, on the other hand, says nothing about the real issues; he appeals only to the emotions of the mob, and because he uses the medium of folk music, he offends the sensibilities of liberals (both in the movie, and in its audience), because he uses the authenticity of the 60's and its messages of change, and "perverts" them to express his messages of reactionism and exclusion.And it works.Tim Robbins has a winner here, and this film gets overlooked because it gets dragged into these conversations about Robbins' own political views, and whether the film is making a statement about Republicans or Democrats.
But Robbins says something far more universal with this film; democracies are not safe from tyranny or fascism; all it takes is a charismatic reactionary who can manipulate the interests of the press and the political interests to rise to power by appealing to the worst elements of our psyche, for entertainment, glamour, and exclusionism.
The screenplay is brilliantly clever brimming with brutal honesty about the political battle in washington.Robbins plays the right-wing politician perfectly portraying a crooked yuppie business man willing to do anything to get elected to the US Senate a must see film one of the best films of the decade..
Tim Robbins' direction, writing, and acting were all phenomenal; I never really fully appreciated his talent and brilliance until this film; Gore Vidal's contribution was a special treat from both a fine actor and a remarkable intellect.Well worth the time - and a replay or two to capture, fully, all of the nuance and insight of this fine work..
"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.
It is filmed in documentary style, telling the story of Bob Roberts, the conservative son of hippie parents who is running for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania.
Tim Robbins misses the point about what cultural populism really means.On a deeper level, this movie wants to leave you in a cold sweat, like Frankenheimer's 1962 version of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.
On the other hand, the portrayals of the newscasters and Roberts' followers are a beautiful mix of satire and truth.There are so many broad caricatures on this film, I found myself wishing that Tim Robbins would have toned it down for the sake of believability.
This excellent mockumentary passed me by when it came out, so I was glad to discover it now.Strong performances by the whole cast really make this movie shine, Gore Vidal is especially convincing as the incumbent senator, as is Robbins himself and the eerie puppet master Alan Rickman.
an informed viewer will see it like a documentary but with fictionalized characters instead of the real people.anyone who thinks this is 'parody' or 'satire' needs to stop following the news via headlines and pundits.for example the speech by the underground reporter about Iran contra and everyone being the same players throughout the decades rings especially true and is an obvious example of how the movie parallels the political status quo today.a 'must watch' movie, much more so today than when it was originally released..
Bob Roberts is political satire at its best, written and directed by Tim Robbins who is hilarious a conservative senatorial candidate running for office in Pennsylvania against a liberal counterpart, Brickley Paiste(Gore Vidal), a casting stroke of genius.
Tim Robbins made his politics perfectly clear in his writing/directing debut, 'Bob Roberts'.
I never felt this was turning into a polemic because ANY politician who runs a dishonest campaign---no matter which "wing" they represent---will feel the sting of this mockumentary.As the title character, Robbins plays a right-wing senatorial candidate in Pennsylvania who badmouths the revolution of the '60s while prostituting '60s images and reworking old folk songs to sell his corrupt message.
In these two films and in 'Cradle Will Rock', he uses his friends and stock company of familiar names (including wife Susan Sarandon, Jack Black, John Cusack, Bob Balaban, and several family members).If 'This Is Spinal Tap', 'Best In Show', and 'Real Life' are among the best mockumentaries, 'Bob Roberts' is just a notch below.
The real sting in this film is that, devious and repulsive as Bob Roberts is, he is far more charismatic and interesting than his tired rival, Brickley Paiste (Gore Vidal), and he has managed to appropriate all of the weapons of the 1960s protest movements (including that most sacred insitution of all, folk music) and use them with a vigour that is scarily convincing.
But it was made 24 years before Trump was elected.Robbins plays Roberts, a right-wing politician who sings Bob Dylan-like songs that are twisted around 180 degrees.
A conservative folk singer, Bob Roberts, turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate.
Meanwhile, a reporter is investigating Roberts's potential involvement in a drug ring.Written by, directed by and starring Tim Robbins, this is a brilliant satire on US politics.
This movie is a comment on all those politicians who do what Bob Roberts does in this movie--and if he doesn't resemble a Republican or two we have come too well to know in this country, well, then, I suppose you may as well believe you can have satire without commentary.
I had only seen a snippet of it before, the brilliant song parody of a right-wing folksinger singing about welfare recipients who "complain and complain and complain and complain and complaaaaain!"  I was impressed by the quality of this ditty and rented the movie.Although billed as a comedy, I found this one to be a generally oil-and-water mixture of paranoid leftist diatribe and political comedy.
Songs like this wouldn't bring even the zombified audiences the movie postulates into a frenzy.Despite its flaws, however, I found Bob Roberts well worth watching for its star performances (Tim was great), its innovative camera work, and its emotional impact.
Tim Robbins is Bob Roberts, a right wing, Bob Dylan opposite, singing patriotic folk songs denigrating liberals.
The film relates the ascension of a charismatic yuppie from Philadelphia, a 35-year old self-made, a gifted swordsman, guitar player and folk singer named Bob Roberts.Like the most memorable movie characters, Bob Roberts is a man of fascinating contradictions: his conservative views are swept off by his youth, handsomeness and communicative smile while his notorious aversion toward the 60's rebelliousness is expressed through folk songs performed in public à la Bob Dylan.It's not coincidental that the film is Tim Robbins' directorial debut, and that he wrote and starred in it, for it immediately echoes another political classic : "Citizen Kane".
It's true that the portrayal of radicals flirt with caricature while the realism of movies like "JFK" and "Nixon" didn't make them less flattering about politicians."Bob Roberts" is refreshing because it points the finger on the danger of radical beliefs, and the way they lead to disasters, in the name of so-called values.
And since I mentioned "Nixon" and "JFK", I realize that the 90's might be the best decade for political movies, Oliver Stone took the dramatic approach while "Bob Roberts" and "Wag the Dog", another gem of Black comedy, were more satirical but, at the end, more prophetic.
As the title character - sort of a right-wing version of Bob Dylan - Tim Robbins mocks the whole American political process.
And the speech that Giancarlo Esposito's character Bugs Raplin gives towards the end of the film about how corporate media doesn't want to tell you the truth almost accurately predicts what we are seeing now with many media outlets being owned by corporations such as GE, Comcast, Time Warner and others who dilute the information we see every day on TV.For me, this film was perhaps more visionary than originally intended, and in future years might be looked at not as political satire, but as a very keen predictor of what has happened to our political process and the watering down of the corporate news media..
I'm politically left-wing, so I have nothing against the liberal slant of Bob Roberts per se.
But a movie having a message I agree with isn't enough to make me like it.Bob Roberts offers a ludicrous caricature of a Republican candidate as a corrupt, lying, violent, racist criminal.
The movie is very heavy-handed and makes its attack on conservatives so personal that I almost wonder if Robbins lacked the confidence to take on the content of their political ideas.
If you have convinced yourself that every Republican is somebody who (like Bob Roberts) makes David Duke look like a centrist, then nothing in this film will challenge your preconceptions.But the weakness of this movie isn't really why I'm commenting on it.
I recently saw him interviewed and all he could answer - to reporter who asked him a serious question - was, "Well, YOU join the Army!" The man is a typical ultra-Liberal of the last decade: full of hate and insults, but no solutions to anything.Never better was that presented in this lame so-called "satire," which was just another vehicle for a Hollywood Loony Left-winger to expunge his hatred of conservatives, Republicans, Christians, etc.
He's not even an actor, but being a left-wing icon, he gets a role.One thing this movie did well: it gave us a prime example of Hollywood and its extreme political leanings and bias.....and total disdain for the American viewing public, which appropriately turned thumbs down on this propaganda piece..
There is absolutely nothing in this film that makes it worth viewing unless you live in a fantasy world where Abby Hoffman is a hero.Basically, the movie is a mockumentary, where Bob Roberts is some hustler who ad-libs Conservative lines but is totally amoral.
But watching it now is like a slap in the face...we can see what the Bush No. 1 administration was up to then, and what W is continuing to do...it's as if writer/producer Tim Robbins had a crystal ball and what he saw in 1992 came true...just more terrifying, bloody and scary than any of us could have imagined 12 years ago.
It follows the rise of folk-rockin', anti-Dylan Bob Roberts (Robbins) and the tricks, ploys and misdirection used to combat and eventually defeat liberal incumbent Brickley Pace (Gore Vidal).
A filmmaker documents the rise of right wing folk singer Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) as he runs for the Pennsylvanian Senate seat.
Bob Roberts is a timely movie about national political cynicism that was intended to satirize the Republican Revolution of 1994.
But--for the twin values to be found in this movie, in both entertainment AND timely social comment--it's just plain, hands-down my favorite goddamned film.Every single moment is a comment on some social, political, or popular institution (SNL, soundbites, Bob-Dylan-reference-galore, GE, the fatigue of the old Left, etc.).
Bob Roberts could have been a great political satire.
Bob Roberts could have been a great political satire.
Tim Robbins plays a right-wing singing political con-man and extortionist.
Since solid conservative political philosophies are inevitably treated in Hollywood as racist, corrupt, stupid, extortionary, unfair, and indefensible -- surely you wouldn't expect a movie directed by its star, Tim Robbins, to be any different.
The best part of the movie are the two scenes that are basically stolen right out of "A Face In The Crowd."  Left to his own devices, Robbins attempts at Schulberg like satire have all the subtlety of a lug-wrench.
Very few films excluding `All The President's Men' have we seen a dramatization placing conservatives in a bad light, and while there are assertions that the media has liberal bias, most films/news coverage featuring a politician or having some political meaning proves otherwise.In the film, made-up U.S. Senate candidate Roberts (Tim Robbins) dodges questions about his stands on issues.
Conceivably, a fictional coincidence of the horribly oxymoron `compassionate conservatism' which, like Robert's ploy, is as commercially misleading as an Atkins diet.Whatever you feel about Tim Robbins now (i.e. his perplexing off-screen politics) he has created a rare bird of a movie here, which, despite being over 10 years old, is currently not so far from reality..
This was written and directed and stars Tim Robbins as a former folk singer turned politician who is running for the senate in Pennsylvania against incumbent democratic senator Gore Vidal.
If you're looking for a story that'll make you question the very foundation of the country while making you laugh and squirm simultaneously then yes, it's a good movie.It's hard to go very far into the plot without ruining some of the better surprises, so I'll just say this: Bob's a right-wing politician/folk-singer.
"Bob Roberts," Tim Robbins' 1992 fictional account of the political campaign of a folk-singing conservative businessman, is a remarkable film.
Echoing D.A. Pennebaker's 1966 documentary "Don't Look Back" (which covered Bob Dylan's 1965 U.K. tour; a number of scenes in "Bob Roberts" are cribbed directly from the Pennebaker film), "Bob Roberts" follows the title character (played by Robbins, who also directs and writes here) in his 1990 Senatorial campaign against Brickley Paiste, a once-vigorous, but now-weary and increasingly disenchanted New Frontier-era liberal democrat (played by author Gore Vidal).
It's interesting that Tim Robbins picked Pennsylvania of all places for his satirical film Bob Roberts.
However his folk singing and his media manipulation help keep the sinister facts from the public view.Using clever references and a very good satirical script this film shows the way that politics has become a mere media friendly activity and how it can be manipulated.
His story-line for Bob Roberts is campaigns and politics, a subject matter Tim Robbins the author has virtually no experience in professionally or intellectually (he was a drama major at UCLA), but alas, this is Hollywood where a drop-out like Martin Sheen can pretend he is President on screen and off.
During his professional career Tim Robbins formed his political views which became what the story of Bob Roberts is about dressed up as political satire.
"Bob Roberts" is a hilarious and scathing satire that pokes fun at right wing politicians perhaps a little too harshly-but it's still great (and sometimes depressingly accurate) fun.
If your politics are anti- Republican/conservative, than you will likely have a ball watching this movie!
But, at times, "Bob Roberts" also pokes fun at the media, extreme left wingers (not sure if this satire was intentional, though, but it seems like it), and just the nature politics in general.Tim Robbins writes, directs, and stars in this film-and does a great job, leading a cast of many fine and interesting actors that range from Ray Wise to Jack Black.This is definitely an entertaining watch for those who agree with its politics.
"Bob Roberts" is a messy satire on the American political campaign process which is shot as a pseudo-documentary.
This is the best film that Tim Robbins has ever made and the best political satire that I have ever seen.
The Film is Filled with Cameos of Well Known Faces and Co-Stars Alan Rickman as Robbins Muscle.Most Reviewers and Professional Critics now say that this is Perhaps the most Prophetic Political Satire Ever with the Possible Exception of "Citizen Kane" (1940).Turning the Right Wing and Left Wing on Their Heads, Robbins Plays "Bob Roberts", an Anti-Bob Dylan Folk Singer and Dylan is a LOL Thread Running through this Poke in the Eye at Hypocritical Conservative/Republican "Values".He Sings and Talks of Patriotism, Religion, the Flag, with a Hubris "Fox News" Utilizes with Irony on a Daily Basis.
The film is not only directed towards the American politics, with right and left wings of a determined type, but to any modern politician.
Tim Robbins is the new Orson Welles in the fact that he's able to direct, write, and star in his movie about corruption in the political arena.
I just rented it again (August 2003) and find that it is as relevant now as it was then -- perhaps even more so.I like the fact that the movie doesn't try to explain what exactly is behind Bob Roberts's campaign.