What About Bob?
A needy psychiatric patient invades his therapist’s family vacation, turning the doctor’s carefully managed life into a mercilessly cheerful farce.
Overview
A neurotic man's vacation turns chaotic when his obsessive patient crashes the family getaway.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- warm
- breezy
- lazy sunday
- family comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film predictable but sharply funny and humane, driven by Bill Murray's neurotic performance, memorable one-liners, and the chemistry between Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bob follows Dr. Leo Marvin to the New Hampshire cottage and becomes popular with Faye, Anna, and Sigmund while Leo spirals.
Leo's annoyance at Bob develops into frantic efforts to remove him and increasingly extreme attempts to regain control.
Leo presents himself as a brilliant psychotherapist and family patriarch, but Bob's presence exposes his insecurity and emotional unraveling.
Bob seeks attachment and acceptance, while Leo fears that his family prefers Bob's warmth and humor to his own authority.
Films like What About Bob?, and why
The Odd Couple
shared screwball escalation, mismatched personalities, and a comic rivalry that turns one character's life upside down
Analyze This
shared neurotic protagonist, warm ensemble comedy, and escalating domestic disruption
The Cable Guy
shared suburban or domestic farce, obsessive behavior, and comic conflict between an anxious outsider and an irritable authority figure
Movie Details
- Director
- Frank Oz
- Release Date
- 1991-05-17
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (943)
Cast
- Bill Murray
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Julie Hagerty
- Charlie Korsmo
- Kathryn Erbe
- Tom Aldredge
- Susan Willis
- Roger Bowen
- Fran Brill
- Brian Reddy
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is What About Bob? about?
- A needy psychiatric patient invades his therapist’s family vacation, turning the doctor’s carefully managed life into a mercilessly cheerful farce.
- What is What About Bob? like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of What About Bob? as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is What About Bob? violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in What About Bob? as mild.
- What did critics think of What About Bob??
- Critics broadly found the film predictable but sharply funny and humane, driven by Bill Murray's neurotic performance, memorable one-liners, and the chemistry between Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.
- Which films are like What About Bob??
- Films with a similar feel include The Odd Couple, Analyze This, and The Cable Guy.
- How long is What About Bob??
- What About Bob? runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch What About Bob??
- In United States, What About Bob? is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
