Summary Of The Movie 'What About Bob?'

What about Bob? is a movie about a man named Bob who suffers from anxiety. Bob struggles greatly with his disorder, which causes him to panic every time he leaves his apartment in New York City. Along with anxiety, Bob has an extreme fear of germs known as Mysophobia and this fear translates into a fear of disease as well. Bob has many problems with his life and he sees psychiatrists for help. The movie hints that Bob has seen many psychiatrists over the course of his lifetime. His current psychiatrist is quitting his practice, the psychiatrist refers Bob to Dr. Leo Marvin. During Bob’s first session, Dr. Marvin announces that he will be going on vacation and will be unavailable for a month. Bob’s anxiety kicks in and he panics. Bob takes extreme

In the movie, Bob confesses that his wife divorced him. I feel that this specific situation is very realistic. Unfortunately, a stigma against mental illness exists in our society today. The very idea of a spouse having a mental illness could actually cause a wife to leave. This specific situation, I feel, is very accurate. Another scene depicts Bob’s former therapist as he is packing his things. While doing so, the therapist chats with Bob’s new doctor. The therapist laughs maniacally as he tells the doctor that he will have his hands full with Bob. While not entirely realistic, this portrayal could be possible, but highly unlikely. While the therapist portrayed in this scene does seem to have a mental breakdown of sorts, I feel that this situation is highly unlikely in the real world, as real psychiatrists train to deal with patients that would aggravate others. A big part in “What About Bob?” is Bob’s need to involve himself with Dr. Marvin’s family. Bob makes friends with the family members, who in turn gradually help him by allowing him to help them. Unknowingly, when the members of Dr. Marvin’s family open up to Bob, he wants to do what they are doing, which simultaneously helps cure Bob’s disease. This portrayal of Bob mingling with the family is realistic, replicating group therapy. Also, people placed in those positions would enjoy mingling with someone as kind-hearted as