What About Bob? (1991)

A successful psychiatrist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, a highly manipulative obsessive-compulsive, tracks him down during his family vacation.

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Alvin Sargent (story), Laura Ziskin (story),

Stars:

Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss, Julie Hagerty

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	Bob 'Bobby' Wiley
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Dr. Leo Marvin
Julie Hagerty	...	Fay Marvin
Charlie Korsmo	...	Sigmund 'Siggy' Marvin
Kathryn Erbe	...	Anna Marvin
Tom Aldredge	...	Mr. Guttman
Susan Willis	...	Mrs. Guttman
Roger Bowen	...	Phil
Fran Brill	...	Lily Marvin
Brian Reddy	...	Carswell Fensterwald, M.D.
Doris Belack	...	Dr. Catherine Tomsky
Melinda Mullins	...	Marie Grady
Marcella Lowery	...	Betty, Switchboard Operator
Margot Welch	...	Gwen, Switchboard Operator
Barbara Andres	...	Claire, Dr. Marvin's Secretary

Storyline

Doctor Leo Marvin, an egotistical psychiatrist in New York City, is looking forward to his forthcoming appearance on a "Good Morning America" telecast during which he plans to brag about Baby Steps, his new book about emotional disorder theories in which he details his philosophy of treating mental patients and their phobias. Meanwhile, Bob Wiley is a recluse who is so afraid to leave his own apartment that he has to talk himself out the door. When Bob is pawned off on Leo by a psychiatrist colleague, Bob becomes attached to Leo. Leo finds Bob extremely annoying. When Leo accompanies his wife Fay, his daughter Anna, and his son Siggy to a peaceful New Hampshire lakeside cottage for a month-long vacation, Leo thinks he's been freed from Bob. Leo expects to mesmerize his family with his prowess as a brilliant husband and remarkable father who knows all there is to know about instructing his wife and raising his kids. But Bob isn't going to let Leo enjoy a quiet summer by the lake. By ...

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Plot Keywords:

vacation | patient | psychiatrist | book | phobia | 

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Taglines:

Bob's a special kind of friend. The kind that drives you crazy!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hur mår Bob?

Filming Locations:

8254 Scruggs Road, Moneta, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$63,710,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The vacation house where this was filmed was actually in Virginia on Smith Mountain Lake.

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Goofs

The lake is obviously not in New Hampshire as evidenced by the abundance of Longleaf Pine trees, which only grow as far north as southern Virginia (where the lake scenes were filmed).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bob Wiley: I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful...

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Connections

Referenced in Hannibal (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Singin' in the Rain"
Written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown

User Reviews

better than anyone might expect

Bill Murray really does his best when playing outright wacky characters like the one in "What About Bob?". In this case, he's a mentally unstable psychiatric patient who follows his psychiatrist (Richard Dreyfuss) on vacation and practically takes over. In a way, the whole movie's sort of silly, but it shows how the psychiatrist is basically a pompous dweeb and Bob is the world's most lovable person, if not quite all there. It's really neat towards the end, how the psychiatrist starts losing his mind in frustration. All in all, it shows that Frank Oz is quite capable as a director, and that Murray and Dreyfuss are two of the greatest actors of our era. Also starring Julie Hagerty, Charlie Korsmo and Roger Bowen in his final role.