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Leo takes his family for a summer vacation in his second home at Lake Winnipesaukee. The GMA interview is the next morning. All is well, but he is about to receive his comeuppance. For he has made the mistake of accepting a referral from another shrink, a new patient, Bob Wiley.
Bob (Bill Murray) is a nutcase who talks to himself and is afraid to touch anything. He is also compulsively needy when it comes to psychiatrists. Bob tracks down his new doc, Leo, to Lake Winnipesaukee, and promptly ingratiates himself with Leo's family. They adore Bob, because he is as open and fun as Leo is brisk and condescending.
Leo becomes ever more agitated as all his increasingly desperate efforts fail to 'protect' his family from head case Bob.
How others will see it. The two names here are Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss is entertaining as the pompous jerk about to be skewered, and Murray makes the best of the average-plus screenplay. But the film isn't as funny as its ingredients should make it. This has much to do with the dubious character evolutions of Bob and Leo.
If Murray's antics are a letdown, men of all ages at least have else something to watch: Kathryn Erbe. The future co-star of "Law and Order" is attractive, and she gets plenty of screentime.
How I felt about it. The title What About Bob? doesn't suit this film. Problem was, a better title, Trading Places, had already been taken by a different pair of "Saturday Night Live" alumni, Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. The psycho Bob inserts himself into Leo's family, while Leo turns psycho.
The turning point for Bob comes when he meets Leo's family. Up until that time, others are put off by his weird behavior. Remember the passengers that broke into applause when Bob exited the tour bus? The leery looks given Bob by Leo's secretary?
But it all changes for Bob when he meets Fay, Sigmund, and Anna. For them, Bob is a ray of sunshine that has broken through the clouds of egotism and structure arranged by Leo. Leo's family loves Leo, but they are also exasperated by him, and Bob allows them an outlet for their rebellion against Leo's control.
Leo continues to see Bob as he initially was, a freak to be ignored or avoided except upon appointment, when Leo will be paid to see him. But Bob has changed. Now his behavior is regarded as engaging instead of as eccentric. He's the hit of the mental asylum, and he becomes engaged to Leo's sister. Now he will actually be part of Leo's family, in fact in addition to in effect.
But why would meeting Leo's family "cure" Bob? Whatever happens to the goldfish? Why can't Leo accept Bob, instead of trying to kill him? Trading places worked a lot better in the Eddie Murphy movie.