What About Bob?

"What About Bob?" (1991)

The character: Bob "Bobby" Wiley

What about him: A clinical nutcase who has become so attached to his doctor (Richard Dreyfuss) that he can't bear to be apart from him. "Separation anxiety" doesn't begin to cover it.

Murray moment: "Baby step to 4 ... moreo'clock. Baby step to 4 o'clock ..."

Analysis: Although "What About Bob?" is a variation on a classic Murray situation, in which his obnoxiousness infuriates authority figures, it takes the premise one step further ... into psychopathology. The irony is that Bob's passive-aggressive weakness becomes a powerful tool he can wield to get his own way, since everyone around him -- everyone but his livid doctor -- is inclined to view him with pity and sympathy. With an apparent absence of malice, he nevertheless becomes a real monster -- and a psychiatrist's worst (non-drug-induced) nightmare.

(Everett Collection)