“I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful.” As positive words of encouragement/lies go, those are some of the best we’ve ever heard, and we first heard them spoken by Bob Wiley (Bill Murray) on May 17, 1991—when What About Bob? released in theaters. Thirty years later, not only is that question still worth asking but those words just as reassuring (especially these days).
The aforementioned comedy stars Murray and Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Leo Marvin, the egotistical psychotherapist who has the misfortune of crossing paths with the former; Murray at his most manic, exhibiting cargo shorts full of phobias and a proclivity to end a relationship with anyone ostentatious enough to like Neil Diamond. After all, there are two types of people in this world: those who do, and those who don’t. In honor of Jewish Elvis, the man who despises him, and his shrink, we rewind and re-ask What About Bob?
Cover Photo: Buena Vista Pictures
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What About Bob
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Meet Bob Wiley
Bob’s laundry list of phobias keeps him from living a healthy, happy life. Although he treats people well, he demands constant reassurance and attention. Like all those we rely on (we’re talking about you, Dad), Bob’s therapist, exhausted by an invasion of privacy and constant need for reassurance, dumps him on Dr. Leo Marvin...
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Bob Wiley, Meet Dr. Leo Marvin
Dr. Leo Marvin, a Kardashian’s white-coat (wannabe) equivalent. Leo is convinced his new book, Baby Steps, is his ticket to superstardom. Enter Bob, who, despite failing in his attempts to guess the names of Leo’s family members, offers more wisdom than we were ready to receive. Ex. “If I fake it then I don’t have it.”
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Bob Is Like Us
Leo gives Bob a quick assessment, tells him to approach his problem via Baby Steps, and then dismisses him as he’s in a rush to go on a month-long family vacation. He tells Bob that if he needs anything to Dr. Second String. However, Bob is unable to cope without his new best friend (who doesn’t want Bob to know where he is) and therefore goes to drastic lengths (including faking his death) to follow Leo to Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.
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Just a Little Light Stalking
Leo tries and tries again to rid himself of Bob; unfortunately, like TikTok, Bob isn’t going anyway. Plus, people hate Leo. In particular, the Guttmans, who hold a grudge against him because he purchased the home they had been saving for years to buy. Bob gets to stay with them.
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Jack, I'm Flying
In a scene that undoubtedly inspired James Cameron’s classic, Bob gets over his fear of sailing. Afterward, he even helps Sigmund muster up the cover to dive—something Leo has tried to do for years. Turns out, clinical psychology is a load of bull. Tie yourself to the mast and set sail.
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So, Leo Pushes Bob in the Lake
Following this universally-agreed-upon declaration of war, Leo’s wife Fay invites Bob to dinner and a thunderstorm forces him to stay the night, something that enrages Leo even more because Good Morning America is coming, well, in the morning. He then tells Bob he must leave at 6 a.m. sharp.
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Wake Up, Bob! COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!
After a night of pretending to have turrets with Sigmund, Leo is unable to wake Bob...until his alarm goes off.
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'Good Morning America'
Ever since his book made it big time, Leo has been anticipating an interview with Good Morning America. Unfortunately, the TV crew runs into Bob and suggests Leo’s patient be on the show as well. Of course, Bob steals the spotlight in a cringe-worthy interview comparable to anything Diane Sawyer has ever done.
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Leo Tries to Have Bob Committed
Leo loses it and attempts to have Bob institutionalized. Due to progress made spending time with Leo’s family, Bob proves his sanity by befriending the hospital staff and making therapy jokes. Leo is inevitably forced to pick up Bob but abandons him in the middle of nowhere. Somehow, Bob beats him home.
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Bob Finally Starts To Understand...
Leo loses it and attempts to have Bob institutionalized. Due to progress made spending time with Leo’s family, Bob proves his sanity by befriending the hospital staff and making therapy jokes. Leo is inevitably forced to pick up Bob but abandons him in the middle of nowhere. Somehow, Bob beats him home.
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Leo Tries to Kill Bob
This is as Edgar Allan Poe as it gets folks. Equipped with a shotgun and explosives, Leo kidnaps Bob and takes him deep into the woods, and ties him to a tree, calling the excursion “death therapy.” Bob, believing this whole “death therapy” thing, frees himself from the explosives and is subsequently cured of all that ales him. He then returns to the Marvins’ vacation home and praises Leo for his unusual due diligence. Said home then explodes because Bob left the explosives inside...
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Happily Ever After (With a Hint of Role Reversal)
The worst is over, how much worse can it get? Well, Leo’s mind officially unravels and is rendered catatonic, his medical license is revoked, and he’s convicted/accused (unclear) of attempted murder. There are no positive words of encouragement for Leo; the only words he hears as in the film’s final minutes are “does anyone object?” to the union of Bob and Lily. So, What About Bob? Take him with. Crazy loves company.
