Bob Roberts

Released just before the start of the Clinton presidency, this political satire was prescient comment on the corruption of American politics by the media-savvy celebrity culture. Constructed as a pseudo-documentary, the film follows the campaign bus of a candidate running for a senatorial seat in Pennsylvania. Bob Roberts is a young, wealthy, well-connected rebel conservative with a penchant for folk music who appropriates liberal touchstones of the 1960s and 1970s for his own agenda. On the surface he is a sincere believer in the restoration of such intangibles as national pride and family values, but the longer he is followed about by documentary filmmaker Brian Murray, the more the candidate is revealed as a textbook case of cynicism and contempt. Written and directed by Tim Robbins. Cast includes: Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Alan Rickman and Gore Vidal, with appearances by John Cusack, Peter Gallagher, Susan Sarandon, James Spader and Fred Ward.