WHAT ABOUT BOB?

WHAT ABOUT BOB? 

Spoiler Alert

Like The Survivors, which hilariously portrayed the impact of Reaganomics on the middle class in the 1980s, and Just Go With It, that poked fun at male/female relationships in the 2000s, the 1991 film What About Bob? used humor to examine America’s obsession with mental health at the close of the Twentieth Century.  The story revolves around Bob Wiley (Bill Murray), a man literally crippled by his phobias and Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfus), his new psychotherapist.  The movie opens with a man in a messy studio apartment lying in bed chanting, “I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful.”  This is Bob and the fact that he has to convince himself he‘s okay shows that he isn’t.  He gets up, dresses, and tells his goldfish, who is aptly named Gill, that he’s going to work, then sits at a computer and punches a time clock.  Just when it seems that Bob must work from his apartment, however, he puts on a windbreaker indicating that his job is located outside of the home.  He uses a Kleenex to turn the door handle and walks down the narrow hall in such a way as to avoid touching the walls.  Outside trash is strewn on sidewalks, homeless people congregate in doorways, and kids groove to the beat of the hip hop that blares from their ghetto blasters.   


Uptown, in his plush neat-as-a-pin office, psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin talks on the phone with his wife Fay (Julie Hagerty) excitedly announcing that Good Morning America (GMA) is going to interview him about his new book, Baby Steps. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Leo’s colleague, Carswell Fensterwald (Brian Reddy), who says he is quitting his practice and asks Leo to take one of his patients that no one else can help.  Leo preens under the flattery and agrees that he, indeed, can accomplish what no one else can.   The two men hang up and, while Carswell sprints away shouting gleefully that he is “free”, Leo informs his secretary Claire (Barbara Andres) that she needs to set an appointment with a new patient name Bob Wiley whom he will see as soon as he gets back from vacation.  She informs him that he’s too late because Bob has already made an appointment and will be there any minute.  Apparently, Bob’s job is going to therapy.


When he gets to the doctor’s building, Bob discovers that the office is on the forty-sixth floor which can only be reached by using the elevator or taking the stairs.  Since he suffers from claustrophobia as well as germaphobia, Bob opts for the latter and, by the time he reaches the doctor’s office, he is literally gasping for air.  Not even registering his new patient’s respiratory distress, Leo calls Bob into his office so he can get this inconvenience over with.  The first thing Bob notices is a picture of Leo with two smiling women, a teenage girl, and a little boy.  He tries to guess their names but fails, which prompts Leo, who loves demonstrating his intellectual superiority, to point out that one of the women is his wife Fay, the girl is his daughter Anna (Katheryn Erbe), the boy is his son Siggy (Charlie Korsmo), short for Sigmund Freud, and the other woman is his sister Lily (Fran Brill).  


Leo sits down behind his desk, conspicuously posing in a manner that is doctor-like, and directs Bob to have a seat and describe his problem.  Bob states that his primary difficulty is going out in public, a fear which causes him to experience dizzy spells, nausea, cold sweats, difficulty swallowing, dead hands, and fingernail sensitivity.  He also says that he worries about getting Tourette Syndrome which he staves off by faking symptoms of the disease to reassure himself that he doesn’t have it.  Suddenly, Bob declares that Leo is the first therapist he’s met who can help him.  Confident that his new patient is right, the doctor hands him a copy of Baby Steps and bids him adieu.  Just as Bob gets to the door, Leo makes the mistake of explaining that their next appointment will be in a month when he gets back from vacation.  Bob, who has failed to mention that he also suffers from separation anxiety, immediately starts to panic.  Oblivious to his patient’s discomfort, however, Leo sends him away and orders Claire to charge Bob for a full office visit and the book.  


Back at his apartment, Bob obsesses about Dr. Marvin’s absence until he hits on the idea of contacting the answering service and telling the switchboard operator, Betty (Marcella Lowry), that he is supposed to call the doctor but has lost the phone number.  When it becomes clear that she isn’t going divulge it, Bob talks her into dialing the number for him.  Leo answers and accepts the call, but instead of trying to calm his patient down, he orders Bob to either contact the therapist on call or go to the hospital.  In turn, Bob tries to find out exactly where the therapist is vacationing.  When the ploy fails, he apologizes for overstepping and hangs up.  Not to be dissuaded, however, Bob heads outside to the nearest phone booth and asks a prostitute that is hanging around to contact the answering service and pretend to be Leo’s sister, Lily.  Betty is fooled a second time and she puts the call through, but when Leo answers and finds Bob on the line, he barely contains his ire as he reiterates that Bob should leave him alone and go to the hospital.  Once again, Bob apologizes and promises not to call anymore.  He is too upset to keep his word, however, and goes to the answering service in person.  He introduces himself as a police detective who needs to speak with Dr. Marvin about a patient named Bob Wiley who has committed suicide.  Tricked a third time, Betty gives him the doctor’s address, even carefully spelling out Lake Winnipesaukee; after he leaves, she calls Dr. Marvin to report Bob’s death.  When the phone call ends, Fay asks her husband about it and he explains that a patient killed himself, but that won’t spoil their vacation.  


Armed with the doctor’s address, Bob pours Gill into a mason jar that has a long rope attached to it, hangs it around his neck, and, after many failed attempts, manages to board a bus that will take him to his doctor.  From the moment Bob disembarks, screaming for Dr. Leo Marvin at the top of his lungs, the plot tightens around the struggle between two equally determined characters: the therapist who puts himself first and the patient who will not settle for second place.  The primary difference between the two is that Bob’s vulnerability makes him sympathetic while Leo’s air of privilege makes him repugnant.  The result is that townsfolk like café owners Mr. and Mrs. Gutman (Tom Aldredge and Susan Willis) and members of Leo’s own family end up favoring Bob.


The Gutmans hate Leo because he purchased the house they had spent years saving up to buy. Therefore, when they see how badly the doctor wants to get rid of Bob, they keep him around by letting him stay with them.   In the case of Leo’s family, his wife and children all end up taking Bob’s side over an incident that happens at their house.  It starts when Anna, who is highly critical of her “perfect” father invites Bob to go sailing with her and her friends.  When he sees Bob on the boat, Leo, who has been trying for two years to teach Siggy to dive, drops his son into the water and calls Anna ashore so he can talk to her.  He makes Anna walk back to the house with him so he can tell her not to interact with his crazy patient.  She angrily retorts that, unlike him, Bob is sensitive, a good listener, and fun.  


Unbeknownst to the two, Bob has followed them and when they go inside the house, he runs into Siggy who complains about the pressure his father is putting on him about diving.  Bob, who has never been swimming asks Siggy to explain the process, and the boy gets so wrapped up in helping Bob, that he overcomes his own fears and makes a perfect dive.  When Leo, who has been upstairs whining to Fay, looks out the window and sees his son’s dive, he rushes down to take the credit, and accidentally knocks Bob into the water.   They pull Bob out and Leo tries once again to get rid of him, but Fay, who usually is painstakingly supportive of her egocentric husband, insists that Bob stay for dinner.  Grateful, he accepts the invitation and after the meal, shows his appreciation by helping with the dishes.  Just as they finish, Leo again tries to send Bob away, but it begins to storm making it impossible for him to walk back to the Gutman’s, and Fay suggests their impromptu guest spend the night.


Because the GMA crew is due to arrive at 7, Leo wakes Bob early and kicks him out.  On his way out, Bob announces that the television crew has arrived, then instead of leaving, hangs around to watch the action.  Announcer Joan Lunden sees him and when she learns that he is one of Leo’s patients, insists that he participate in the interview.  When the cameras start rolling, Leo freezes and Bob takes over the presentation, doing a great job. As soon as the crew is gone, Leo offers to take Bob for a ride, but instead takes him to a nearby asylum.  Certain that the staff will admit his patient, Leo drops him off and heads home.  No sooner than he gets back, however, the director calls and tells Leo to come get Bob because they can’t find anything wrong with him.  When Leo gets to the facility, he sees his impossibly annoying patient entertaining the staff with funny stories. He puts Bob back in the car but at the first possible opportunity, dumps him on the side of the road and drives away.  Shortly thereafter, he is stopped for speeding; while the police officer is writing his ticket, a truck passes with Bob inside smiling and waving.  Enraged, Leo gets back in the car and hits the gas pedal so hard he backs into a rock blowing a tire; as he is getting the jack out of the trunk, a passing car runs through a nearby puddle, covering him in mud.  


When Leo finally gets home the house is dark and deserted so he goes outside to look for his family.  He finds them in the backyard where a large crowd has gathered to celebrate his birthday.  The guest he is most pleased to see is his sister Lily, but when Bob walks up and puts his arm around her, Leo goes crazy and charges him.  The family takes Leo inside where a doctor gives him a sedative strong enough to knock him out for the next few hours.  Naturally, Bob is there; he offers to take over Leo’s role as husband and father, but Fay and the kids tell him to leave because his presence seems to make Leo worse.  While they are talking, Leo crawls out of bed and sneaks out the window.  He walks into town and breaks into a gun store where he steals twenty pounds of explosives.  


Fay and the children realize that Leo is gone, and climb into the car and drive around looking for him.  Left on his own, Bob has no choice but to walk back to town alone.  To his delight Leo sneaks up behind him with a gun and announces that he wants to try a new treatment called Death Therapy.  He ties Bob to a chair, hangs the explosives around his neck, sets a timer, and walks away.  Figuring that he will be freed of his emotional knots when he unties the physical ones, Bob struggles until he gets out of the rope then hurries back to the house still wearing the explosives.  Leo and his family arrive simultaneously and see Bob strolling across the yard carrying Leo’s birthday cake and singing a song of praise.  Leo demands to know what Bob did with the bags just as the house explodes.  Out on the lake, the Gutmans sit in their boat cheering.  


At the end of the film, Leo is in the asylum suffering from catatonia.  Fay and the kids take him to Bob and Lilly’s wedding which shocks him back to sanity.  A final written blurb explains that after marrying Lily, Bob went to school, became a psychologist, and wrote a book on Death Therapy for which Leo sued him.


Whether or not it was the intent, this “cute” movie raises some interesting questions regarding the field of mental health.  And please keep in mind that I am not talking about what I think, but what I believe the film suggests.  First, it delves into the definition of mental illness.  Is Bob ill or simply lonely and demanding?  I don’t think there is any question that he has problems, but can he be as sick he claims and still be as wily as he is?  The tactic he uses to get Leo to divulge his wife’s and children’s names, knowledge Bob later uses quite skillfully, and the methods he employs to track the therapist down, suggest that this is someone able and clever who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.  


This brings me to the second issue, which is whether Bob should even be receiving treatment.  His main problem is that he weighs everything by how it applies to his needs.  He doesn’t realize the Gutmans only invite him to room with them to get back at Leo, he only cares that he has a place to stay; he doesn’t enjoy talking to Anna because he feels her pain, he only wants someone to tell his troubles to.  He doesn’t actively help Siggy learn to dive, his interest is getting the boy to help him.  Finally, he completely misses the fact that his refusal to leave greatly hurts the person he claims to admire above all others.  Can therapy cure someone whose primary symptom is that he will do anything in order to have his way?   
    

 The final question I felt the movie addressed had to with criteria therapists must meet in order to work with those that truly are mentally ill.  Leo’s story is a cautionary tale.  He is insensitive, selfish, egocentric, and greedy.  In fact, he is so busy pretending to know everything that he can’t learn anything, which causes him to repeat the same mistakes time and again.  Even though his methods fail to teach his son to dive, mend fences with his daughter, and get rid of Bob, Leo never tries anything different.  The irony here is that the whole movie revolves around a book which claims to offer a new approach to treatment that has been written by someone who is incapable of trying anything new.  This makes Leo a failure and a hypocrite and, truth be told, deep down inside he knows it.  That’s why he freezes in the interview with GMA and why Fay, who is like his conscience in human form, unflaggingly supports him.  One of the most memorable scenes in the movie occurs when Leo gets the call from the asylum to come back and get Bob.  As he hops into the car and tears away, Fay runs behind him, calling over and over, “What about Bob?” because Bob stands for Leo’s values, and by failing to meet his obligations to Bob, Leo is in effect failing his responsibilities as a therapist, a father, and a human being.  


That’s all for now.  I’ll be back in two weeks to begin a three-part series that discusses comedic actors Robin Williams, Adam Sandler, and Bill Murray in what I feel are some of their best dramatic roles.  Until then, enjoy some of your own favorite flicks.