Rent Bob Roberts (1992)
3.7 of 5 from 89 ratings
1h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Written, directed and starring Tim Robbins, 'Bob Roberts' is a satirical, eye-opening, documentary-like journey into the world of American politics - where the message of the politician isn't necessarily confined to speeches and TV appearances. This is the country where anything is possible, where even a catchy tune can catapult a politician to the heights of the greasy pole. Teaming up with a folk-singer, one hopeful candidate for the US Senate makes a record that spins faster than any spin doctor! Soon they are climbing to the top of the hit parade, proving that image, a good tune and a bit of pure schmaltz mean more today than substance and detail.
- Actors:
- Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Rickman, Ray Wise, Brian Murray, Gore Vidal, Rebecca Jenkins, Harry Lennix, John Ottavino, Robert Stanton, Kelly Willis, Merrilee Dale, Tom Atkins, David Strathairn, James Spader, Pamela Reed, Helen Hunt, Eva Amurri Martino, Jim West, Peter Gallagher
- Directors:
- Tim Robbins
- Producers:
- Forrest Murray
- Writers:
- Tim Robbins
- Aka:
- El ciudadano Bob Roberts
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Comedy, Drama
- Collections:
- All the Twos: 1972-2012, Award Winners, Cinema Paradiso's 2025 Centenary Club: October - December: Part 1, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Susan Sarandon, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 2, A Brief History of Film...
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Reviews (2) of Bob Roberts
Too close to the truth - Bob Roberts review by CP Customer
Knowing the events that occurred 2 years after the films release, the Pennsylvania elections of '94, this film is very prophetic. An excellent mock-umentarty.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Folk You - Bob Roberts review by griggs
Somewhere between a joke and a warning, Bob Roberts has aged into a comedy that is barely a comedy at all now. What Tim Robbins made in 1992 as a political mockumentary now plays like a horribly plausible rehearsal for the world we ended up with. Not so much ahead of its time as filed under the wrong genre.
Robbins is terrific as the grinning folk-singer chancer, because he understands the key thing about men like Bob Roberts: they do not need to make sense, they just need to scan well on camera. Alan Rickman, as his campaign manager, is the perfect accomplice — watchful, dry, keeping the whole circus airborne with minimal effort. The songs are the film’s sharpest weapon: Dylan’s earnest troubadour pose, same costume, opposite politics, twice the cynicism.
What really makes it bite, though, is the mockumentary form. The cameras are not exposing the con. They are part of it, helping package, frame and sell the lie. That is the bit that now feels genuinely chilling. Less satire now than diagnosis.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.