Bob Roberts (1992) (1992)

July 13, 2024 4:50 PM

A conservative folk singer turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate. He is not above dirty tricks and smear campaigns to gain an advantage over his opponent.

Starring, written, and directed by Tim Robbins as Bob Roberts. Also starring Alan Rickman, Giancarlo Esposito, Gore Vidal. Today seemed like a good day to post this.

Not available for streaming according to Justwatch.com.

posted by adamrice (13 comments total)

Gee, adamrice, what on earth prompted you to post this? I just can't understand.

Love this movie. Way overdue for a re-watch. Especially now.
posted by Frayed Knot at 4:54 PM on July 13 [6 favorites]

I managed to grab a used DVD of it a few months ago. No sign of it coming to an HD format anytime soon.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:08 PM on July 13

IIRC this was Jack Black's first film.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:45 PM on July 13 [1 favorite]

I had this recommended to me many years ago by a friend who said of it, simply, "this will chill your shit."

Yes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:45 PM on July 13 [4 favorites]

I remember seeing this when it came out, in NW Arksansas w/, iirc, about 15 other people in the theater. Didn't know anything about it other than "Tim Robbins" and "political satire." Suffice to say it did in fact chill my shit. Unsurprisingly very few people I've known at the time or since have even heard of it, and it immediately dropped out of the public consciousness, but it always stuck with me. I'm glad to see that people do, in fact, remember it. FWIW, I obtained a copy on the seven seas just a year or so ago when I was thinking of it (again).
posted by Pedantzilla at 8:59 AM on July 14 [1 favorite]

A somewhat awkward choice for a first date. (Don't ask me how I know.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:27 AM on July 14 [3 favorites]

Yeah I first saw it on the evening of 4 February 1993. It left an impact on me.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 1:34 PM on July 14

I got this on dvd quite a while back because I love it so much. So many great performances from so many actors including Giancarlo Esposito, Jack Black, Ray Wise, Alan Rickman and of course Tim Robbins who wrote and directed the movie. I'm so sad it's hard to find because it's an amazingly prescient satire.
posted by miss-lapin at 3:36 PM on July 14

I saw it when it came out and was so impressed by Tim Robbins growth; if you've binged watched Bull Durham as many times as I have his transition from baby-faced doofus with a million dollar arm to this slick smiling monster is amazing, let alone writer/director. Sadly, it belongs in the category of films I find painful to rewatch, especially after 9/11 and all that flag waving xenophobia became reality. What was satire is now documentary.
posted by winesong at 4:20 PM on July 15 [3 favorites]

Seen it at least twice but am now also in the "can't rewatch" camp.

Alan Rickman was instrumental in getting this film made; he believed it was necessary. It was, but no one seems to have listened.
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:26 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

What was satire is now documentary

Sadly this was true twenty years ago. We're now in to a new abyssal plain.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 3:03 PM on July 16 [3 favorites]

What was satire is now documentary

...the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce...
posted by JohnFromGR at 7:36 AM on July 17

Rewatching this and Night on Earth as well as Maxxxine, it's been nice to be reminded that Giancarlo Esposito is capable of far more than the elegant bad guy role he's been largely typecast in since Breaking Bad.

Watch this film or Do the Right Thing and you can see how great he is as a twitchy agitator.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:34 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]