What About Bob?

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What About Bob?

PG

1991

1h 40m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

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44 Reviews

79%

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100,000+ Ratings

Before going on vacation, self-involved psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) has the misfortune of taking on a new patient: Bob Wiley (Bill Murray). An exemplar of neediness and a compendium of phobias, Bob follows Marvin to his family's country house. Dr. Marvin tries to get him to leave; the trouble is, everyone love Bob. As his oblivious patient makes himself at home, Dr. Marvin loses his professional composure and, before long, may be ready for the loony bin himself.

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Critics Consensus

Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss' chemistry helps make the most of a familiar yet durable premise, elevating What About Bob? into the upper ranks of '90s comedies.

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Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

Murray and Dreyfuss play off each other to their maximum advantage: Murray does what he does best, to shine-on and ultimately destroy authority figures, while Dreyfuss' portrayal of the runty doctor is splendidly Napoleonic.

May 21, 2018

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Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

Murray, with his curious blend of pathos and aggressiveness, is terrific, and so is an acutely uptight Dreyfuss, never once copping a plea for our sympathy.

Oct 5, 2008

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

This cruel but effective black comedy violates credibility at almost every turn, but the concept itself is so strong hat it winds up working pretty well anyway.

Mar 13, 2007

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

This is a comedy? Dementia is an insidious and terrible disease, and Hollywood seems to find it very laughable. [Full review in Spanish]

Dec 8, 2022

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Sean Collier

Box Office Prophets

What About Bob? is carried, almost single-handedly, by a peak performance by Murray, whose work here is the equal of his turns in Ghostbusters or Caddyshack.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 8, 2019

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an affable endeavor that isn't quite the comedy classic one might've anticipated.

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 4, 2017

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Albert S

Lake Winnipesaukee!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/07/25

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Lance C.

I enjoyed it, but I couldn’t stand Bill Murray’s character. Great chemistry between Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. The story had me fighting sleep at parts. I would tell others to watch it, but I wouldn’t watch it again.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/19/25

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Mitchell S

The acting is good and it's well written. But for me it was too disturbing and annoying.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

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Andrew M

Gets boring but laugh out loud funny moments:)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/28/25

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Audience Member

I'm a mental health professional myself, and I take boundaries with my patients pretty seriously since it's important to and I've learned the hard way over the years. However, I found much of this movie to be pretty funny since I could really relate to it! The performances were very good, but I still wish that Richard Dreyfuss's character had more of an arc and a "Grinch Stole Christmas heart-growing" development moment between him and Bob by the end of the movie, but they never really did. Funny enough, one of my patients recommended that I watch this movie and I'm actually glad that I did! It was a good run time too!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/25/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Unfunny in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $63,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/20/25

Full Review

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Frank Oz

Director

Bill Murray

Bob "Bobby" Wiley

Richard Dreyfuss

Dr. Leo Marvin

Julie Hagerty

Fay Marvin

Charlie Korsmo

Sigmund "Siggy" Marvin

Kathryn Erbe

Anna Marvin

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Synopsis

Before going on vacation, self-involved psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) has the misfortune of taking on a new patient: Bob Wiley (Bill Murray). An exemplar of neediness and a compendium of phobias, Bob follows Marvin to his family's country house. Dr. Marvin tries to get him to leave; the trouble is, everyone love Bob. As his oblivious patient makes himself at home, Dr. Marvin loses his professional composure and, before long, may be ready for the loony bin himself.

Director: Frank Oz
Producer: Laura Ziskin
Screenwriter: Tom Schulman, Alvin Sargent, Laura Ziskin
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $63.5M
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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