Quoi de neuf Bob?

Frank Oz directed this comedy that stars Bill Murray as Bob Wiley, a neurotic, needy and lonely man who has seen many psychiatrists, but feels most comfortable with egotistical Leo Marvin(played by Richard Dreyfuss). However, after Dr. Marvin takes a month-long vacation with his family in rural New Hampshire(where he expects to be interviewed by a network morning show) he is stunned to find that Bob has somehow followed him there, and refuses to leave, even ingratiating himself with his wife and children, and that's just the beginning... Amusing comedy with terrific performances, and a most sly premise, which could easily have been turned into a suspense thriller involving stalking!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie the first time I saw it, laughing most of the way. By the second look, Bill Murray's deliberately obnoxious-pushy character now started driving me crazy, too. No longer was it just Richard Dreyfuss being tormented. By the third viewing, I'd had enough.

Murray, "Bob," is so annoying, so irritating, that you either laugh or want to kill this guy yourself as he hounds his psychiatrist all over the place. Kudos to Dreyfuss to put up with, even if it's just acting. Murray certainly did his job well in this film. He was the perfect actor to play "Bob."

Highly recommended for one but beware "Bob" may drive you nuts, too.

"What About Bob?" is a laugh-out riot with Bill Murray playing the title character of Bob Wiley, a somewhat neurotic nut ball who's in need of therapy in order to calm his nerves from all the fears he has from germs, elevators, and God knows what else. Richard Dreyfuss plays his psychiatrist Dr. Marvin, a pompous doctor who can't value time with his family until his book becomes a hit and has a chance to talk about it nationwide. It's when Bob and Dr. Marvin meet face-to-face where the barrel of laughs begin with the patient making his life upside down while winning the hearts of his family, enemies and everybody around him. I've been a fan of Bill Murray since his performances from Ghostbusters to Caddyshack and he never disappoints.

It might be a little simplistic to call this "Bill Murray's Movie",because in truth,this film works just as well because it has a fantastic support from Richard Dreyfuss,Julie Haggerty,Charlie Korsmo,KAthryn Erbe and director Frank Oz. Still,you cannot watch this film without feeling like Murray's complete abandon in this film is what gives this film its pep,spark and life. This might be one of the more energized performances of his long and well-padded career.

Dr.Leo Marvin(Dreyfuss,who has settled into being the 'Uptight fuddy-dudd' roles from here,as opposed to the more restive,youthful roles of past movies like "Jaws" and "Goodbye Girl")seems to have it all. Loving wife,healthy,normal kids and a career that is on the verge of taking off:a comfortable private practice in New York and a self-help book about to be published nationwide. At the last minute,he accepts another colleague's patient(for whom he does not wonder as to why his peer is so breathlessly trying to pass this patient off to him):one Bob Wiley(Murray). Bob doesn't have anything wrong with him;he has MANY things wrong with him. Multiphobic,clingy and more than a little under-developed in his sense of emotional attachment,Bob misreads the good doctor's brush off(As the doctor gets ready for a Labor Day getaway with his famille)as being a cure-all,and is immediately smitten with the doctor's methods,approach,diagnosis and treatment. He decides he's going to insinuate himself into Dr.Marvin's life(in somewhat of a mixture of gratitude and need),and follows him to the rural,New England lakeside vacation where the Marvins are staying.

Alvin Sargent and Laura Ziskin's story and script make the actors' moves and lines so easy you'd almost think there were elements of improvisation. But Murray and Dreyfuss are(and not to belabor a point here but...)the key here. Murray's socially oblivious and free sense of bonding clashes DRAMATICALLY with the button-down professionalism of Dreyfuss' doctor,and as Muray thinks himself "Better",Dreyfuss' shrink seems to be getting worse,confounded by his unwanted patient's persistence and loyalty. While the unabashed enthusiasm of Murray's character might drive away some viewers who might see this as "annoying" or "too much", Murray fans and,I think,fans of sort of odd,non-formula comedies will DEFINITELY appreciate the whole story and rhythm of this film. Perhaps it's a bit too early to state this(though this film,which I first caught in the theaters in first release sixteen years ago,has had more than a decade to simmer in the memories of moviegoers),I feel this is something of a modern comedy classic. I've seen this film no less than three times and,to chime in with an IMDb message board poster,this IS a truly re-watchable movie.

This relatively simple, good Frank Oz comedy is to me one of Bill Murray's best. In here, the former 'Ghostbuster' star is Bob Wiley, a good-hearted obsessive-compulsive who tracks down his new psychiatrist when he goes on vacation with his family; his annoying but good-hearted actions, coupled with the doctor's upcoming TV interview, cause the man to slowly go crazy himself.

I find this film rather polarizing, exactly because of Murray; or, to be more precise, his character. Bob Wiley is good-hearted and enthusiastic to a fault, to the point of being obnoxious. You can't help feeling sorry for the psychiatrist (a very good Richard Dreyfuss) for having to put up with him. And Murray, himself, does a great job; he is not obnoxious in an overly cheerful/clownish way (like Robin Williams, for example), but rather in the comedic OCD way his character is supposed to be. His is merely great acting; a bit TOO good acting, though, as sometimes I myself felt irritated with Bob.

Richard Dreyfuss does a very good job too. His character, an overly-uptight and arrogant 'genius' psychiatrist, is shown in a way that we should feel he deserves the hell Bob inadvertently brought him; yet, because of Bill Murray, we can't help sympathize with him. Still, his breakdown moments are hilarious and the interactions between Dreyfuss and Murray are perfect.

The supporting cast exists, but it is really Murray's and Dreyfuss' show.

In the end, it comes down to how you cope with Murray's character. Whether you can stand him and laugh, or whether you find him so irritating to the point of being unbearable. I certainly found it quite funny and liked it, and would not hesitate to recommend.