Bob Roberts is, I suppose, the equivalent of This is Spinal Tap in terms of US politics- though I thought Warren Beatty's Bulworth (1999) was funnier & more engaging. This film is not quite as funny as it thinks it is, and broadly buys into the notion of democrats good/republicans bad- when Bulworth & books like Stupid White Men show the 'opposition' is just as corrupted. This is a very interesting film in terms of politics, touching on many pertinent elements- the notion in Western 'free-market' politics that anything goes. That this real-capital has merged with political aspiration (does the notion that anyone can become the US President really hold true?)- that the spin and manipulation of the media is all that is required. If they look & sound like they're answering your questions, well- how can you complain? So, in terms of the manner in which polticians approach their work , utilising corporate & marketing philosophies, this is a cutting work (and will be familiar to those who've gazed at the horror that is New Labour, as dictated by Alistair Campbell in the UK).
Nice to see 'real images' cut into proceedings- we see Bush Snr & Sadaam- who is linked to an interesting diatribe on US foreign policy delivered by Gore Vidal- which ought to be seen by anyone advocating another Gulf War. We even get buzzwords such as "the smoking gun" (surely the one that the NRA hold?) & John Cusack is great as a sell-out comedian on a Saturday Night Live programme- where he mentions US investment in Weapons of Mass Destruction. There is an implicated sex-scandal featuring Roberts' opponent- which almost predicts the Starr-related farago (really, is one adult having sexual relations with another on a level with Watergate, Iran-Contra or being arrested three times- as is the case with the current President "elect"?).
The manner in which the media have become compliant with polticians is also pertinent, not far from the exaggerated imagery of Natural Born Killers (one scene on the comedy programme reminds me of Network also). Robbins is excellent as Roberts- an Al Gore type who appears to have rebelled against 60's radicalism; but uses the style of Dylan/Ochs/protest singer in an inverted manner recalling drivel like One Nation in Australia. Roberts is as deluded over his past as Tom Cruise's character in Magnolia or Jeffrey Archer in the recent BBC-TV fantasy biopic.
The cast are excellent- particularly Fred Ward, Susan Sarandon, Gore Vidal, Ray Wise & John Cusack- and Tenancious D fans will be pleased to see an early appearance from Jack Black as a Roberts fan. I think some of the songs are very good- though the Subterranean Homesick Blues-style rap video was more CB4/Fear of a Black Hat than The Rutles or This is Spinal Tap.
Bob Roberts paints a bleak portrait of US politics at the start of the 90's, while Bulworth does the same at the end of the millennium. In both we see a No Logo/Silent Takeover/Captive State/Stupid White Men notion of corporate perversion of poltical life; who says Americans don't do irony or satire?
![Bob Roberts [1992]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/714MYJ4V41L._SL160_.gif)
