oh. holy. jesus. how funny is this movie? and as the daughter of a psychiatrist, trust me when i say that it's even funnier. Bill plays Bob Wiley, an obsessively-obsessive-compulsive patient of egocentric NYC psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin, played by the great Richard Dreyfuss. can we please first all agree that the chemistry between Bill and Dreyfuss is just incredible? they play off each other SO WELL. i start to laugh out loud when i think about how ANNOYING Bob is - and how much we bloody love him for it (especially since we're not his psychiatrist).
"Take a vacation from your problems" is probably the worst advice Dr. Leo could've given to his new patient... Bob, who's a recluse and completely phobic of leaving his apartment, decides to venture outside of the confines of his home to pop in on and spend some quality time with Dr. Leo and his family, who are vacationing at Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. from New York, Bob "baby steps" the entire way to Lake Winnipesaukee with his goldfish Gil in a water-filled jar hung around his neck (btw, after this movie, the three goldfish i've kept i named Gil - how could one not?).
it's so satisfying that with all the annoying and inappropriate and crazy things that Bob does to Leo, (including intruding on and stealing the spotlight of Dr. Leo's promotion of his book "Baby Steps" live on Good Morning America) we sympathize with and love Bob so much while completely disliking Dr. Leo. HOW?! it's because that, despite the fact that Dr. Leo is totally in the right to feel the way he does, Leo is such a great prick. the perfect prick, actually. and mirror that prickness to Bob's infuriating ways, well, the result is just incredible. even Leo's kids begin to prefer Bob's company who they see as "fun" while their father acts uptight, mean, and dull. i lose it laughing every time when Dr. Leo pulls out those f-cking hand puppets to communicate with his kids - classic kooky-clinical-movie-psychiatrist. ugh - Leo is just too much. omg! SEE? HE is too much! this is what great acting and writing and perfect performances can do - the audience can be convienced that the victim or "good guy" (in this case, Dr. Leo) is actually really the "bad guy."
poor, poor Leo... when he's sitting on the couch all isolated, miserable, and alone while Bob is in the kitchen with Leo's wife and kids as they clean and dance around singing "Singing in the Rain" together? ppffft... i'm sorry, but Leo doesn't stand a chance against Bob. and what makes it all even funnier is that Bob is completely oblivious to Leo's outrage and mental breakdown. i LOVE LOVE LOVE it when Leo goes berserk - i hardly ever use that word, but that's exactly what happens - Leo goes completely. f-cking. berserk. when he drives Bob into the middle of the woods and screams at Bob to get out of the car???!!!! do you know that scene? it's one of my favourite incomprehensible movie lines EVER. you gotta watch it again if you don't remember it:
i also love that after Bob drives Leo into his complete nervous breakdown and a doctor comes to visit Leo and prescribes him Prozac, Bob interjects, and the deadpan delivery is pure gold: "Excuse me Phil, but with these particular symptoms, is Prozac the right choice? [...] With this kind of manic episode, I would think that Librium might be a more of an effective management tool." the doctor AGREES and re-writes the prescription. and then when Leo ultimately ends up comatose in a wheelchair, drooling in the asylum, with a blanket in his lap, HOLDING A HALF WOVEN BASKET???? omg - i seriously can't stop laughing. please. this movie has everything, including a wedding at the end when Bob marries Dr. Leo's sister Lily. oh man, i seriously can't stop smiling. i gotta watch this movie again tonight. DONE.
"There are two types of people in this world: those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him." Bob (Bill Murray) in What About Bob?
"DR. MARVIN!!!!???"
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