Whether you like it or not, Bob Roberts is here to stay. He's that kind of a guy, the kind that can sweep you off your feet, rally the crowds into a frenzy and have them eating out of his hand. He's the Perfect Politician, and that's why he's going to win... even if it takes a little manipulation here and there and maybe even some slight legerdemain. But you don't have to know that. All you have to know is that he's the guy with that open smile, he's the guy who can sing a folk song, he's the Poster Boy for the American Dream, the one who can make this country a Country and make us proud to be an American citizen. He's the man you'll see on every news channel -- Headline News, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC -- and he'll make you feel good about yourself. He'll talk about promise, he'll embrace the people, and the people will love him, because he's their Hero.
This is one sharp tack of a movie, and one that every thinking person should sit on and feel the prick and maybe even see a drop of blood come out like a red flag. Tim Robbins is the new Orson Welles in the fact that he's able to direct, write, and star in his movie about corruption in the political arena. With this movie he's made his own little moving picture that depicts what we see on a daily basis once election times comes sway -- candidate against candidate, using the worst possible tactics to make the other seem unworthy of a vote, always promising to make things better, improve the status of life, and making sure they look as primped and handsome and camera friendly as humanly possible, because it's a known fact that handsome men gain more votes than men who look like Ebenezer Scrooge.
And Robbins has those oddly engaging looks of his that make him the ideal person to cast in the role of the politician that is swaying the masses to his will in Pennsylvania. His is the face that looks angelic in many ways, but one that holds a little menace just under the surface. Maybe it's the coldness of his eyes, but when he plays characters like this he seems like he could slap you blind without a second's notice and immediately resume his camera-ready smile in no time. And how many politicians don't already look like him? I'd like to know. Bob Roberts is a summation of all of the wanna-be governors and presidents that we've seen display their talent for jab. We all want to follow someone, which is why the movie becomes this monster towards the end, and in one short scene Jack Black all but goes bonkers in his support for Roberts. That's the reality of the political game, and just another part of who we are as Americans.
This is one sharp tack of a movie, and one that every thinking person should sit on and feel the prick and maybe even see a drop of blood come out like a red flag. Tim Robbins is the new Orson Welles in the fact that he's able to direct, write, and star in his movie about corruption in the political arena. With this movie he's made his own little moving picture that depicts what we see on a daily basis once election times comes sway -- candidate against candidate, using the worst possible tactics to make the other seem unworthy of a vote, always promising to make things better, improve the status of life, and making sure they look as primped and handsome and camera friendly as humanly possible, because it's a known fact that handsome men gain more votes than men who look like Ebenezer Scrooge.
And Robbins has those oddly engaging looks of his that make him the ideal person to cast in the role of the politician that is swaying the masses to his will in Pennsylvania. His is the face that looks angelic in many ways, but one that holds a little menace just under the surface. Maybe it's the coldness of his eyes, but when he plays characters like this he seems like he could slap you blind without a second's notice and immediately resume his camera-ready smile in no time. And how many politicians don't already look like him? I'd like to know. Bob Roberts is a summation of all of the wanna-be governors and presidents that we've seen display their talent for jab. We all want to follow someone, which is why the movie becomes this monster towards the end, and in one short scene Jack Black all but goes bonkers in his support for Roberts. That's the reality of the political game, and just another part of who we are as Americans.