Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tim Robbins |
Written by | Tim Robbins |
Produced by | Forrest Murray |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jean Lépine |
Edited by | Lisa Churgin |
Music by | David Robbins |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.9 million[3] |
Box office | $8 million[4] |
Bob Roberts is a 1992 American
The film is Robbins' directorial debut and is based on a short segment of the same title and featuring the same character that Robbins portrayed on Saturday Night Live. It marked Jack Black's film debut.[6]
Plot
Bob Roberts takes place in Pennsylvania in 1990. It depicts a fictitious senatorial race between a
Complementing Manchester's neutral perspective are reflections by Senator Paiste, TV anchor Kelly Noble and investigative reporter Bugs Raplin, among others. Paiste is convinced that Roberts is a master manipulator linked to the
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. Roberts' campaign suffers a setback as well, when Raplin's accusations briefly gain traction and result in a subpoena on Lukas Hart III for unpaid housing loans rumored to be redirected to drug trafficking.
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. Raplin's allegations are not confirmed on camera by Roberts campaign member Delores Perrigrew when she is questioned by Manchester, but she does show clear signs of remorse and abruptly quits the campaign.
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.
Cast
- Tim Robbins as Robert "Bob" Roberts Jr., a folksinger and businessman who runs for the U.S. Senate
- Giancarlo Esposito as John Alijah "Bugs" Raplin, a journalist determined to expose Roberts
- Ray Wise as Chet MacGregor, Roberts' campaign manager
- Gore Vidal as Senator Brickley Paiste, the incumbent Senator against whom Roberts campaigns
- John Cusack as Cutting Edge Live host
- Peter Gallagher as Dan Riley, host of Good Morning, Philadelphia
- Alan Rickman as Lukas Hart III, Roberts' campaign chairman
- Susan Sarandon as Tawna Titan, a local news anchor for WFAC-TV News
- James Spader as Chuck Marlin, a local news anchor for station WLNO
- Fred Ward as Chip Daley, co-anchor at WFAC-TV News
- Brian Murray as Terry Manchester, a British documentary film-maker
- Rebecca Jenkins as Delores Perrigrew, a member of Roberts' campaign staff
- Harry Lennix as Franklin Dockett, a Roberts campaign aide
- Robert Stanton as Bart Macklerooney, a Roberts campaign aide
- Kelly Willis as Clarissa Flan, a folk musician and Miss Broken Dove 1989
- Tom Atkins as Dr. Caleb Menck, Roberts' personal doctor
- David Strathairn as Mack Laflin, Raplin's attorney
- Pamela Reed as Carol Cruise, Chuck Marlin's co-anchor at WLNO
- Helen Hunt as Rose Pondell, a field reporter at WLNO
- Lynne Thigpen as Kelly Noble, an interviewer on Good Morning, Philadelphia
- Bingo O'Malley as Robert Roberts, Sr.
- Kathleen Chalfant as Constance Roberts, Bob Roberts' mother
- Matt McGrath as Burt, a friend and bandmate of Davis
- Jack Black as Roger Davis, a fan of Roberts' music and politics (film debut)
- Anita Gillette as Mrs. Davis, wife of the mayor of Harrisburg, mother of Roger
- Fisher Stevens as Rock Bork, a field reporter at WFAC-TV News
- Bob Balaban as Michael Janes, Cutting Edge Live producer
- Allan F. Nicholls as Cutting Edge Live director
- Robert Hegyes as Ernesto Galleano, a reporter
- Steve Pink as an angry Penn State protester
- Jeremy Piven as Candle seller
- Shira Piven as Penn State protester
- Lee Arenberg as Religious zealot
Style
The film's style is drawn from a number of real and mock documentaries, and its shots are crafted to create this effect, in many cases through the use of hand-held cameras. Not only does Roberts' character draw from 1960s-era iconography of
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 93% based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. Its consensus reads "Behind and in front of the camera, Tim Robbins delivers a landslide comedic victory with Bob Roberts – a shrewdly crackling lampoon of modern politics."[12] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 70% based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.[14]
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating, "I like 'Bob Roberts' – I like its audacity, its freedom to say the obvious things about how our political process has been debased." However, Ebert also stated that the thread about the investigative journalism doesn't work, commenting "if [the film] had been only about campaign tactics and techniques, I would have liked it more."[15]
While critics and audiences responded to this film by connecting Roberts’ character to various political figures, such as
The film grossed $4.5 million in the United States and Canada and $8 million worldwide.[4][21]
Awards
The film won the Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack/Sound Design at Film Fest Gent in 1992.
See also
- "Sideshow Bob Roberts", an episode of The Simpsons partially parodying Bob Roberts.
References
- ^ "Bob Roberts (1992)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
- ^ "BOB ROBERTS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 9, 1992. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog".
- ^ a b "15 years of production". Variety. 14 December 1998. p. 102.
- ^ Tim Robbins Looks Back at 'Bob Roberts', 25 years later|EW.com
- ^ AllMovie
- ^ Ansen, D. (1992) "Rattling the Political Cage." Newsweek. 120 (10)
- ^ Canby, V. (1992) "Bob Roberts; A Singing Candidate, A Happy Trail of Hate." The New York Times. September 2
- ^ Roberge, C. (1992) "Tim Robbins campaigns for Bob Roberts and political change (interview)." The Tech. 112 (44) pg. 8
- ^ Johnson, B. (1992) "The Stars and Snipes." Maclean's. 105 (37)
- ^ Kauffman, S. (1992) "Ballotomanes." The New Republic. 207 (15) pp. 34-35
- ^ "Bob Roberts (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "Bob Roberts". Metacritic.
- ^ "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- ^ RogerEbert.com
- ^ Roberge, C. (1992) Tim Robbins campaigns for Bob Roberts and political change (interview). The Tech. 112(44) Page 8
- ^ Troy, G. (1993) Bob Roberts. The American Historical Review. 98(4) pp.
- ^ Wattenberg, D. (2001) "No Nukes". National Review. 53(5) p55-57
- ^ Ansen, D. (1992) "Rattling the Political Cage". Newsweek. 120(10)
- ^ Dowd, Maureen (February 3, 2018). "'Hollywood Is Changing', Says Its Veteran Activist, Tim Robbins". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Bob Roberts at Box Office Mojo
External links
- Bob Roberts at IMDb
- Bob Roberts at Box Office Mojo