Tired of Political Bumblers?

Bob Roberts

dir. Tim Robbins

at the Boston Film Festival

Bob Roberts,a political movie released in the heat of a presidential election year, entices and entrances the viewer as it skewers the senatorial candidacy of its title character, a right-wing folksinger and fencing enthusiast.

The film is done in the style of a British documentary, with Brian Murray playing the Alistair Cooke-esque tweedy host Terry Manchester. The effect is to put the audience on the campaign trail and amidst the rabid, swarming, red-white-and-blue masses of Roberts fans.

The most memorable element of the movie are the concerts, where Roberts, played by Tim Robbins, croons conservative tunes with lyrics such as "This land was made for me," "Drugs stink, they make me sick" and "Times are changing back." He also strums a guitar with a stars and stripes strap around his neck.

"The 60s are, let's face it, a dark stain on American history," Roberts says to a TV interviewer in one scene.

The irony is that the rest of the movie effectively give the lie to Roberts' proclamation. It's a paean to the '60s and an indictment of the '80s. It's a tribute to idealistic caring and muckraking investigative reporting and a giant dis to Wall Street, greed and image control.

It's also a pretty funny movie.

Robbins, who also wrote and directed the movie, plays the evil Roberts with a kind of tongue-in-check delivery. The lyrics Roberts sings once again tell the story: "My mother was a fry cook, my father was a peacenik."

A contestant in a beauty pageant where Roberts makes a campaign appearance proudly wears the banner, "Miss Three Mile Island."

Celebrity novelist Gore Vidal, as incumbent Democratic Pennsylvania Senator Brickley Paistle, is an effective, though more serious, counterpoint to Roberts. In a televised debate, Paiste defends child care, health care, "Sacrifice," while Roberts urges a tax cut and decries "wasteful social programs."

The wildly successful Roberts campaign encounters a few obstacles along the way, the most successful of whom is Bugs Raplin (Giancarlo Esposito), a reporter for Troubled Times. Raplin uncovers a scandal linking Roberts, drugs, Iran-Contra and the HUD fiasco. The effect is to give this campaign comedy the elements of a suspense thriller.

If the reality of this campaign season is getting you down, turn off the nightly news and go see Bob Roberts. You'll laugh, and you'll be reminded what democracy is all about.