Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 17
  2. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    80
    Murray, with his curious blend of pathos and aggressiveness, is terrific, and so is an acutely uptight Dreyfuss, never once copping a plea for our sympathy.
  2. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    80
    Bill Murray finds a real showcase for his oft-shackled talent in this manic comedy.
  3. Reviewed by: Desson Howe
    80
    Bob rests entirely on Murray's shoulders. But he more than takes the weight.
  4. 80
    Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss star in this hilarious brain-teaser about a patient who suffers acute separation anxiety when his psychiatrist goes on vacation.
  5. The concept itself is so strong - particularly as a revenge fantasy for anyone who's ever resented hypocritical exploitative shrinks - that it winds up working pretty well anyway.
  6. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    75
    Actors Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss provide the frenzied fun that highlights What About Bob? a wacky slapstick comedy.
  7. 67
    What About Bob? is a one-joke movie, but what a funny joke!
  8. What About Bob? is just funny enough to make you wish it had been wilder and less predictable.
  9. Bill Murray's manic performance is the main selling point of this mildly amusing farce about a psychiatrist with a patient who literally drives him crazy
  10. Reviewed by: Jo Berry
    60
    What makes the film work is the double act between the two actors, and some great one-liners that pepper the script and cover up the fact there isn't a great deal of originality in the plot.
  11. Reviewed by: Clifford Terry
    50
    A broadly played, by-the-numbers comedy that pits your consummate classic nut case against your quintessential screwed-up shrink. [17 May 1991]
  12. Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    50
    A sentimental comedy about mental illness (complete with a sitcom family), wobbly Bob offers further evidence that Disney itself may be afflicted with encroaching schizophrenia. [17 May 1991]
  13. But there's still Murray, who drives the idea further than it has any right to go. He energizes the loony schtick of the opening scenes. [17 May 1991]
  14. Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    50
    Murray is very funny in the early going when his irritation-shtick is allowed full play; when he turns doughily benign in the late going, he's much less interesting. [17 May 1991]
  15. What About Bob? does work as comedy for a while, thanks to the fortuitous teaming of Mr. Dreyfuss and Mr. Murray.
  16. Reviewed by: Ted Mahar
    42
    It recalls a kind of French farce that assumes its audiences want to see the rich suffer. [18 May 1991]
  17. It's a bomb - not the usual bomb, but a time bomb, despite a 20-minute stretch at the beginning that goes along nicely. [17 May 1991]
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. What About Bob? is a great movie. It's simply hilarious. I loved it. Don't miss it. This is Frank Oz's best non-Muppet movie besides In & Out! It's filled with non-stop laughs. Full Review »