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What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Casting What-Ifs

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

Woody Allen was approached for Leo and possibly directing or rewriting; Patrick Stewart was also considered for Leo, and Robin Williams was the first choice for Bob.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:03Read transcript
  • Woody Allen is reported to have been approached to play Leo and possibly direct or co-write.
  • The panel rejects Allen because his screen neurosis would unbalance the premise.
  • Patrick Stewart is reported as another Leo possibility, which the panel also doubts.
  • Robin Williams is reported as the first choice for Bob before the production reached Bill Murray.
  • The panel says Williams was likely the bigger star in the late-1980s to early-1990s window.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

The famous Fresh Prince of Bel-Air father-departure scene is accused of copying a basically similar Growing Pains scene in which young Leo reaches an emotional place.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:27Read transcript
  • A participant introduces this as one of his all-time hottest takes.
  • The famous Fresh Prince scene with Will Smith, the observed Ben Vareen, and Uncle Phil is said to echo a basically similar Growing Pains episode in which young Leo reaches an emotional place.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

The observed “Catherine Irb” is disqualified for later television fame; the phone operators, the actor who played Tommy Carcetti, Tom Aldredge, and Charlie Korsmo are considered, with the unnamed Tommy Carcetti actor receiving the clearest win.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:31Read transcript
  • The observed “Catherine Irb” is initially proposed before her long Criminal Intent run disqualifies her.
  • The telephone operators are considered but may be too brief to qualify.
  • The performer known as Tony Soprano’s sister is recognized and rejected as too well known.
  • The performer later known as Tommy Carcetti is the favored That Guy choice, but his name is not spoken in this transcript.
  • Tom Aldredge as Mr. Gutman is recognized from The Sopranos.
  • Charlie Korsmo is debated because his child-star run made his name familiar to movie fans.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

The Teddy KGB Award for the Actor in a Completely Different Movie

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

No actor is chosen; Leo’s sister is discussed as an underdeveloped role rather than a performance from another movie.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:28Read transcript
  • The panel initially reports no performer who seems to be in a completely different movie.
  • Leo’s sister appears without enough setup before marrying Bob, suggesting missing character material rather than a different acting mode.
  • Fran Brill’s casting is linked to her friendship with Frank Oz and long work as a Muppets puppeteer.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Recasting Couch

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen is proposed for a clearly high-school-aged Anna, then an all-Black remake develops around Sterling K. Brown, Sanaa Lathan, J.B. Smoove, and Tracy Morgan, with Kevin Hart rejected.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:50Read transcript
  • Will Ferrell is proposed as Bob because he could balance an annoying character with likability.
  • Phil Hartman is proposed as Leo because the role needs rage that remains comic.
  • The existing cast is first declared perfect before the discussion pivots to an all-Black version.
  • Tiffani-Amber Thiessen is proposed if Anna is meant to read as an unmistakable high-school student.
  • The panel worries that a more conspicuous teen-star casting would disrupt the family’s intentionally ordinary quality.
  • Sterling K. Brown is proposed for Leo in the all-Black version.
  • Sanaa Lathan is proposed for Leo’s wife.
  • Kevin Hart is identified as the obvious commercial Bob choice but rejected because the panel doubts he would disappear into the character.
  • J.B. Smoove becomes the preferred Bob because he can charm the family while aggravating Sterling K. Brown’s Leo.
  • Kenan Thompson is considered for Leo as an undervalued performer.
  • Tracy Morgan is also proposed as Bob and receives strong support.
  • The remake discussion pivots to an all-Black cast for What About Bob.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Half-Assed Internet Research

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

Research covers the miniature house explosion, a reported Spielberg Oscar campaign, Murray’s awards history, the Murray-Dreyfuss feud, the Virginia filming location, and Charlie Korsmo’s academic and legal career.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:10Read transcript
  • The explosion used a three-quarter-scale replica rather than destroying the expensive real house.
  • Steven Spielberg is reported to have spent his own money campaigning for a Bill Murray Oscar nomination.
  • The panel notes Murray has only one Oscar nomination despite his long importance to movies.
  • Sean Penn’s win over Murray’s Lost in Translation performance is criticized; the winning film title is unclear in the machine transcript.
  • Murray is reported to have acknowledged that aggravating Dreyfuss helped the movie.
  • Dreyfuss is reported to have called the experience unpleasant while still admitting Murray made him laugh.
  • A Dreyfuss account says Murray aggressively confronted him and threw a heavy glass ashtray.
  • The panel condemns physical harm but treats Murray’s verbal insult as darkly funny.
  • The vacation house was filmed at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.
  • Charlie Korsmo is reported to have chosen What About Bob? instead of the Terminator 2 child role.
  • Korsmo later earned physics and law degrees, practiced law, taught corporate law, and received a federal board nomination.
  • The group calls Korsmo a legend in both acting and his later academic career.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Apex Mountain

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

Charlie Korsmo’s acting career and “death therapy” receive strong cases; Good Morning America, Lake Winnipesaukee, and patient-therapist movies are debated, with Analyze This favored for the last.

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:21Read transcript
  • Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss receive explicit negative Apex verdicts.
  • Julie Haggerty also receives a negative Apex verdict.
  • Charlie Korsmo receives an acting-apex verdict even though his later academic career may be a larger achievement.
  • The movie’s “death therapy” concept is proposed as an apex.
  • Good Morning America receives a possible case based on the era’s cultural centrality of morning shows.
  • Lake Winnipesaukee is proposed but left unresolved.
  • Patient-therapist movies are compared, with Analyze This favored because it was a large hit and important to De Niro.
  • Bob being foisted onto Leo is proposed as a Foist Apex candidate.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Picking Nits

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

The panel questions Bob’s shifting symptoms, the Gutmans’ constant availability, Leo’s murder plan, and the length of Leo’s vacation; Bob’s apparent inconsistency is answered as gradual improvement through Baby Steps.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:24Read transcript
  • Bob’s OCD behavior seems to come and go: he cannot leave home or touch a doorknob, then suddenly socializes with the answering-service workers.
  • Anna’s immediate invitation of Bob is called a borderline nitpick and prompts debate about the character’s age and possible attraction.
  • The response is that pursuing Leo forces Bob into increasingly difficult interactions and therefore functions as treatment.
  • Bob touching the family car without a napkin becomes evidence that his trust is growing.
  • Bob’s impersonation and detective work show him re-entering the world rather than remaining static.
  • The Gutmans appear across the lake whenever the story needs them despite supposedly running a diner.
  • Leo’s plan to blow Bob up offers no credible explanation for the death or evidence.
  • The panel accepts that Leo has lost his mind but still finds the attempted-murder mechanics excessive.
  • A participant’s only nitpick is that committed therapists would treat possible patient self-harm as a 911 emergency.
  • The producer questions whether a psychiatrist would leave patients from July 31 through Labor Day.
  • A roughly thirty-five-day vacation is judged unusually long for an active practice.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

A ten-episode Netflix version is rejected as too long for a one-joke engine; the earlier all-Black movie version remains the preferred remake path.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:14Read transcript
  • The proposed ten-episode version would use Sterling K. Brown and Tracy Morgan from the recasting discussion.
  • The panel says the story is fundamentally a compact movie and would be difficult to sustain for ten episodes.
  • In Treatment is cited as a television structure that can track multiple patients rather than stretch one doctor-patient joke.
What About Bob? poster
What About Bob?

Probably Unanswerable Questions

What About Bob? The Rewatchables

Questions ask whether Leo is an attempted murderer, whether Bob was foisted on him, why no sequel happened, and what a sequel without Leo could be.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:05Read transcript
  • Leo’s effort to blow Bob up is judged attempted murder that should lead to jail.
  • Bob’s previous doctor transferring him to Leo is proposed as an all-time foist.
  • The absence of a sequel is attributed partly to the stars’ hostility.
  • The panel says a sequel still needs Dreyfuss because his performance is essential.
  • A conventional reversal sequel is compared with Analyze That and the observed “Meet the Fokkers.”
  • One 2021 sequel pitch makes Bob a successful television self-help figure whose progress collapses after Leo dies.
  • A reported royalties dispute with Disney is raised as a practical reason Dreyfuss might not return.
  • Possible sequel titles include But Seriously…What About Bob? and What About Me?
  • The all-Black sequel is later given the title What About Van?
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