grantss A conservative folk singer, Bob Roberts, turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate. He sets about organising rallies, singing songs to get his message across. He is not above using dirty tricks and smears to gain an advantage over his opponent. Meanwhile, a reporter is investigating Roberts's potential involvement in a drug ring.Written by, directed by and starring Tim Robbins, this is a brilliant satire on US politics. Quite accurate in depicting the lengths politicians will go to for power, and quite funny at times in how ridiculous they look doing it.Very relevant, at any time. Always good to be reminded of the type of people that are asking you to vote for them.Great ending - wonderful twist. Very powerful and profound.

billcr12 Bob Roberts is political satire at its best, written and directed by Tim Robbins who is hilarious a conservative senatorial candidate running for office in Pennsylvania against a liberal counterpart, Brickley Paiste(Gore Vidal), a casting stroke of genius. Robbins is, of course, well known for his outspoken left wing views. A vicious and personal attack by Roberts on Paiste continue throughout the campaign leading up to the election. Fiction is copying truth in this instance as anyone following the news will understand while watching Robbins actions. Both Vidal and Robbins are caustic and funny but they do manage to deliver a message about what bs all politics is in the end. Depending on which side of the road you live, will probably determine your enjoyment of Bob Roberts; personally I loved it.

jtwcosmos "Self determination. The choice to be... what you want to be. And I wanted to be... rich!"This is the story of a superstar singer turned politician. The movie has good directing, a good script, excellent acting, countless cameos and funny, witty and entertaining music.Tim Robbins is the mastermind behind this movie. He is directing, acting, writing, singing, song writing - in one word, he does everything. And he does everything well. His directing is brilliant and the subject allows him to try his hand at directing movies, video clips, concerts and political rallies, all in one. And the result is incredible. There is a lot of mobility to the movie, and he uses the shaky cam a lot, but without the shaky part, which is remarkable. Also there is a clear distinction between mobile and static scenes, and the two don't mix, they don't bleed into each other, and there is no attempt to film one mobile scene with a fixed camera or the other way around.The script starts lighthearted, funny and highly entertaining and it turns darker and darker as time goes by. The narration and the narrator are brilliant, the mix of singing and politics is very well done, managing a fine balance. There are heavier touches later in the movie, as the writer drives his point home, but they are to be expected. There is also subtlety and innuendo.The actors are very good. Tim Robbins is a natural, both as an actor and as a singer, and his portrayal of a tireless, relentless, flawless political machine is brilliant. Gore Vidal is excellent, and Alan Rickman and Ray Wise are perfect for their roles.There are a lot of cameos by A-list and B-list Hollywood actors, and the movie turns at times into a veritable "Spot the celebrity" kind of game, which ads to the entertaining value. "James Spader, hello Sir, right this way. Here are your lines, this way please. Susan Sarandon, Hellen Hunt, Pamela Reed, Fred Ward, Jon Cusack, welcome, welcome. Here are your parts, please go right this way. Jack Black, Jack Black... I'm sorry Sir, I don't know anybody by that name, but please, please do come in. We'll see what we can do."The music is the glue that brings this movie together. It is militant, the lyrics are catchy and brutally honest, even if they are meant as a satire, not to be played out of context. The music video clips are hilarious and the concerts are very engaging and even moving, at times. The end credits feature a Bob Dylan like moment, the inspiration for the music and for the movie as a whole, bringing the powerful performance to a full circle.Bob Roberts. Brilliant movie, witty, entertaining and downright scary, at times. 10/10.

Ralfscheapthrill I hope I'll make it to show it in a cinema as a double feature with Pennebaker's Dylan-Documentary "Don't look back" because "Bob Roberts" is not only a funny satire about politics and music-business, it's a homage of course to Bob Dylan ans his early career but it is indeed a cover-version of "Don't Look back". For example the whole scene with the politician's wife and her gorgeous sons who even have their own band you can find almost similar in both movies. In fact you couldn't have understand this movie completely, if you've never seen the other. Andt thats of course it's only weakness - it's a kind of insider joke. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your new films Bob!