Bob Roberts (1992)

Directed by Tim Robbins. Starring Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Robert Stanton, Harry Lennix, Alan Rickman, Brian Murray, Rebecca Jenkins, Lynne Thigpen, Bob Balaban, John Cusack. [R]

A smart, supremely cynical political satire shot as a faux-documentary, the directorial debut of actor Tim Robbins, who plays Bob Roberts, a folk-singing Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. He also penned the screenplay (based on a character he played in a segment on “Saturday Night Live”), and his political beliefs and activism don’t just bleed into the writing; they fuel the pessimistic message about the rise of fascism in American democracy and the self-serving interests of investigative journalism. Sadly, the pic’s prescience doesn’t stop there—check out the eerie life-later-imitates-art sequence set at a popular live television sketch show (standing in for the real “SNL”) where the politician’s presence and propaganda disgust certain cast and crew members about a decade-and-a-half before “the former guy” hijacked the real-world equivalent program. Lots of clever and incisively humorous moments, even the parts that are a little too bonafide for comfort, but the movie can also turn heavy-handed, particularly down the stretch when rants replace mockery. I can’t decide whether or not the decision to have the ultra-conservative Roberts be a folk singer is supposed to be ironic or not (what with the music genre typically being populated by liberal peaceniks), but it’s one of the film’s shakiest pastiches. The songs were written by Robbins and his brother, David. Full of famous faces in small roles and cameos, including Robbins’ then-wife, Susan Sarandon, plus Jack Black in his first film role.

69/100