Bob Roberts (1992)

Bob Roberts (1992)

Director: Tim Robbins
Miramax and Others

Reviewed by Popcorn - 6/2/05

Bob Roberts is a modern political classic that at the time was probably intended to undermine the so-called Republican Revolution brewing for the midterm Congressional elections of 1994—remember Newt Gingrich et al?  Then in 1996, Bob Dole and Ross Perot fell on Clinton’s sword; surely neither of them is sufficiently fascist to warrant being targets of this clever, frighteningly accurate satire.

Other critics have argued the subject of the satire was the general business mindset of the Reagan 80s, a la Gordon Gekko’s "Greed is good."  What would happen if that mindset became politically focused, interested in taking over the state apparatus?

The fright of the movie comes from one’s realization that Bob Roberts, qua candidate, is a rich, smooth, folksinging, faux-sensitive, flag-wrapping, Bible-thumping fraud… who except for the folksinging is a dead ringer for the Bush-Cheney "messiah complex" that now heads the US leviathan.  As in the movie, iron-fist coercion and intimidation masked by velvet-glove smarminess beats down truth, and defeats a demoralized opposition candidate.

In 1992, when I first saw Bob Roberts, it seemed misfocused, even farfetched.  I mean in those days, Republicans actually had a large fiscally conservative, socially liberal faction.  It’s possible the Tim Robbins’ leftism had not matured to attacking true corrupted power—the other faction that rules today.  Robbins may have been mistakenly attacking the good Republicans, or he may have been prescient (had foreknowledge) about Bush-Cheney.

History shows the ideals of the Republican Revolution died one microsecond after they assumed Congressional majorities in 1994.  It took only six more years for 90% of the Republican big tent to turn into a big government—fiscally socialist, socially fascist—criminal class (finally exceeding the former 80% Democratic criminal-class percentage).

To refresh our memories: Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) is a multimillionaire rebel against his parents’ hippie generation, who uses cultural symbols of that generation (e.g., guitar strumming and folksinging) in combination with slick MTV-inspired media tools to manipulate adoring masses into electing him to a Pennsylvania Senate seat.  His ambitions are obviously larger than that, and the incipient Hitler-Nazi analogy is dead on.

The cast of characters is stellar, as Robbins, who wrote and directed the film, skewers the shallow, lazy, posturing media—actors Fred Ward, Pamela Reed, and James Spader turn in fabulous performances—, the malicious security hack (Alan Rickman), and the brain-self-sacrificed public.  This is an early showing of the talent of Jack Black, who plays a teenage boy practically frothing at the mouth to support his hero.  You see hear the psychology of jackbooted thugs who tromp others for their twisted symbol of dictatorial divinity.

Again what’s frightening is the movie does so anticipate the current regime.  As for the blindly-obedient-to-authority drones, how many Bush-Cheney bumper stickers still ride on bumpers and backlights in your neighborhood?  And they won!  What is it they’re trying to express now except an eternal belligerently hysterical hatred for anyone who dares suggest their guy doesn’t sit at the right hand of God Almighty?

I’m reminded of the Jack London book, in which some fascist activist-ideologue exclaims to someone of liberal-libertarian sentiment, "We will crush your faces."  So much for "Have a Nice Day" or "Baby on Board."  Any chance of getting on their good side?

The mindless, moronic masses projected in the movie are in full bloom today.  (I personally have a nephew who likes to compliment George Bush by comparing him to Hitler.)  Also, as in the movie, statist apologists of the opposition party are insufficient to halt the media-savvy fascist juggernaut.  Today, the Bill of Rights has been shredded by both parties, the national cookie jar is empty, and Americans are aggressing and being aggressed upon overseas.  Bit of a sticky wicket.

In the movie, Robbins places an investigative non-mainstream journalist Bugs Raplin (Giancarlo Esposito) in the plot to discover some fraudulent deals Roberts has committed with government money.  Roberts, partly because Bugs is such a psychological mess and partly because Roberts controls the mainstream media, neutralizes Bugs using one of the most brilliantly cynical methods ever seen in cinema.  Roberts basically has Bugs killed, and comes out smelling like a rose.  How he comes out like a rose is what’s unique.

Evil triumphs and the majority cheers.  The movie also brings to mind Elia Kazan’s classic, A Face in the Crowd, which starred Andy Griffith in his premier and finest acting role.  Though, arguably, Face has a happy ending.

Bob Roberts is one of the most savagely eviscerating satires you’ll ever see, but it’s necessary.  The target is impervious to anything else… and seems to be impervious to eviscerating satire as well.  (Satire requires mentality to be effective.)  That the movie only made $4 1/2 million shows not many people were paying attention anyway.  Now we’re stuck with what it warned us against so well, a full-scale tyranny to overcome.

We shall overcome it, but movies like this force us to understand the difficulty.

The most complete and politically insightful review of this fine movie I located in Rolling Stone.  Several other innovative elements exist in the movie I haven’t touched upon: for example, a documentary is being shot of the campaign and of Roberts contrived persona as we’re watching it unfold.  What a rich flick.  It would be nice to see a revival of such a powerful film now, in our American hour of desperation.