A different way of telling a story

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Bill Murray is a genius capable of both comedy or drama. Bob is an obsessive compulsive lunatic who finds a self absorbed shrink played by Richard Dreyfuss. The pair have perfect timing with a very strange doctor patient relationship. The doctor has just released a book and is spending his month long vacation on a peaceful lake with his family. Bob shows up and will not leave. The family just love the eccentric Bob, but the doctor-author is driven to insanity by the unwanted guest. The script is tight and the two actors mug for the camera and are terrific in this really funny film.

I saw this film when it came out in 1991 and just rewatched it (a quarter century later) and my enjoyment index hasn't diminished a bit. Dreyfuss and Murray are superb, in fact the whole cast was excellent but I particularly enjoyed the performances by Dreyfuss and Murray. Murray is a terrific comedic talent but Dreyfuss proved to be his equal. I recommend this film for all ages so that they may enjoy some relaxed down time and frequent laugh spasms. This was the first film I saw Murray in where he showed promise as an actor and he has had great success since. For all that Bob put Leo through I hope Dr. Marvin wins the lawsuit!

Bob Wiley is a severe hypochondriac. His life is ruled by his fear of germs, going outside and his bladder exploding. When he meets his new therapist, the egotistical Leo Marvin, he starts to feel better about his fears. However, that's all dashed when Marvin tells Bob he's going on vacation for a month. Desperate and unable to deal with this, Bob follows Leo and his family to their vacation spot on the lake. Now, this may sound like a stalker movie-but trust me, it's anything but that."What About Bob?" is one of those incredibly underrated comedies that everyone seemed to have watched back when it came out ($60 million against a $30 million budget), but no-one seems to remember watching. It's quite a shame really, because the unlikely pairing of Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss is excellent. It's sort of your standard snob vs. slob story, but with the twist of patient vs. doctor. In some ways it's sort of a modern day "The Odd Couple". Bob is an absolute mess, whereas Dr. Marvin is (or at least he thinks he is) perfect in every way. The only legitimate complaint with the film is that Leo Marvin's anger towards Bob Wiley is too much too soon. It would have been nice to see Marvin's anger slowly build and build and build to it culminating to Marvin introducing Bob to "death therapy". But, that one gripe aside, "What About Bob?" needs to be seen. It's underrated, smart and incredibly funny.

There have been movies released before about crazy or uncontrollable characters let loose to follow a certain somebody and drive them up a wall. The most recognizable of comedies that had this kind of set up were films like Ben Stiller's dark comedy The Cable Guy (1996), Duplex (2003) or Kurt Russell's Captain Ron (1992). Both of which were about main characters' mental issues that somehow were able to get away with everything, meanwhile simultaneously annoying the living crap out of the person they cling on to. This is no different on a narrative level; the formula is all there. The only change are the leads, their positions on the social ladder and the location. The real element that will win over its viewers will be Bill Murray - if you're a big fan of him.To be realistic it is not a bad performance and Bill Murray doesn't play the worst character. However, he's still not that likable. In fact, none of the characters any actor plays is that likable. The day before Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) leaves for vacation, a fellow psychiatrist transfers one of his patients, Bob Wiley (Bill Murray) to be checked out. After visiting Dr. Marvin, it is revealed to Bob that Dr. Marvin is going on vacation. With that, Bob does everything he can to see his Dr. again for psychiatric help. Tom Schulman best known for writing Dead Poets Society (1989) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), penned the script for this comedy with the legendary Frank Oz directing.The strange thing is, like stated before, the execution isn't anything new. The direction is too well known - crazy person introduced to potential host, host becomes victim of crazy person's antics while nobody else believes them. Unlike The Cable Guy (1996) and Duplex (2003) which were mean spirited comedies and Captain Ron (1992) being more dimwitted than anything else, this just plays out irritating. Thankfully, Bill Murray's character wasn't written to be mean spirited, in fact his role is more innocent by nature. The problem is he just doesn't take a hint when someone says leave. With that Bill Murray comes off as more obnoxious than anything else. He's not sick-minded or a jerk, so that kind of makes him acceptable but not likable really because there's little to sympathize for. Bob could be a likable character if he was written more as a character than knows he's causing trouble but can't help it. Instead, Bob causes pain to others and doesn't even notice it. Then again though, that may be due to his dumb surrounding characters.It truly is amazing to how oblivious people can be. Since when are family members so accepting of a professional's patient to show up on vacation, sleep with them in the same room and eat at their table. Not to mention teaching their kids bad words. Doesn't that raise a couple, if not more than a couple red flags? Haven't they heard of the phrase, "don't bring your work home with you"? Dr. Marvin seems to be the only one who notices and understands that. It's weird because everyone else is so accepting of Bob and yet they don't deal with him in the same manner as Dr. Marvin. Plus, some of the smallest things Bob does everyone finds it hilarious, especially Mrs. Marvin (Julie Hagerty) who is quite annoying too. Saying "MmmmmmMMMMmmm" after every bite of food at the dinner table really stirs up that many chuckles ? It's because of their lack of concern and care for the victim that makes them unlikable as well and contain no charm. Clearly stated in the movie, one of the reasons why people like Bob is because he's fun and old man Dr. Marvin wasn't. Maybe writer Tom Schulman was trying to get the message across; that you can't live life being a stick-in-the-mud all the time (meaning relax now and then). But aside from one subplot about Dr. Marvin's son trying to learn how to dive, there is no indication of Dr. Marvin being a father who can't have fun. The only reason why nobody finds Dr. Marvin fun is because he's trying to get rid of a patient that is following him and can't get rid of. Wouldn't that make you act rotten too? These supporting characters are so thickheaded. The only actor that is funny on occasion is Richard Dreyfuss. The reason for this being that even going back to the years of Jaws (1975), when Dreyfuss got frustrated, his yelling was more comical than it was dramatic. Nonetheless, since this is a comedy, Dreyfuss is funny in a number of areas because his character has no other way of dealing with the problem (being Bob). Cinematography this time by Michael Ballhaus wasn't anything important, it doesn't showcase much. The music however, composed by Miles Goodman is alright, although it does sound very close to that of his more popular score a year later from The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). It's not terrible but it isn't good comedy either, unless you're a true Bill Murray fan.Hardcore Bill Murray fans should have no problem with this but if you tire of formulaic host comedies where some crazy person makes everyone turn on the already label victim, it'll be a frustrating sit. It's not the worst because Richard Dreyfuss is funny and Bill Murray's role isn't mean spirited, but the whole play out is just annoying to sit through anyway.