104 in 2009 Week 15: What About Bob?

Hey, almost a week late. Once again, I waited too long to write about it and I therefore don't have as much to say. Normally I'd just roll this into the next week, but week 16 is a pretty big update as it is (and as you'll hopefully see tomorrow), so I'll just slip this one out first.

What About Bob?
Frank Oz, 1991

This is a movie with a simple message: don’t be a complete douchebag, or your perfectly reasonable complaints and requests will not be heeded by anyone. Richard Dreyfuss, as a psychiatrist who just wants to be left alone on vacation, is cast very clearly as the villain, even turning homicidal in the last act. If you look at it objectively, though, the way he treats Bill Murray’s Bob throughout the first half of the movie or so is perfectly reasonable, even kinder than it needs to be. It all comes across as horribly cruel and unnecessary, though, because hey – what a douchebag.

What About Bob? basically coasts on its stars, and Dreyfuss and Murray are up to the challenge, keeping things lively and interesting even through a few dry patches, including an ending that is, to be honest, a bit of a mess. It's not going to change the face of comedy (or, more accurately, didn't change the face), but it's a good way to spend an hour and a half.

7.5/10


Progress: 30 (Par)