Film

Bob Roberts

Name: Bob Roberts
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1992
Cast: Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Rickman, Ray Wise, Brian Murray

Comedy

A scathing political mockumentary where a slick millionaire conservative folk singer runs for Senate, weaponizing '60s counterculture aesthetics to sell hard-right ideology. Tim Robbins plays against type as something genuinely sinister—charismatic, persuasive, terrifyingly believable. It's angry satire that doubles as prophecy.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy mockumentary satire that plays its political stunts straight-faced, so the joke lands in the gap between the candidate's slick folk-singer image and the sleazy machinery behind it.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast laughs; this is dry and deliberate, with long stretches of campaign footage that let the irony build slowly rather than hitting you every minute.

What it asks of you: It runs about an hour and forty minutes and stays in the documentary-style frame throughout, so you need patience for the observational pacing and a willingness to watch closely.

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