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Bob Wiley
Portrayed by: Bill Murray
The titular protagonist of "What About Bob?"
- Anti-Villain: While he does cause Dr. Marvin a lot of trouble throughout the story, underneath his neuroses he's clearly very well-meaning, friendly, and sweet-natured, and doesn't mean to be a bother; he just doesn't fully grasp either the concept of giving Leo space or that Leo's attempts to get rid of him aren't part of his therapy. When he realizes that he's causing Leo's instability, he's immediately regretful and agrees to leave.
- Big Bad:
Depends on whether you see Bob, Leo, or (possibly) the Guttmans as the main villain. - Beware the Silly Ones: Bob's neuroses may make him look like a kooky nut, but he is shown to be surprisingly clever despite them. Of note is how he manages to track down where Leo is vacationing by pretending to be a detective and tricking some receptionists he had called previously into telling him.
- The Cat Came Back: No matter what Leo does, Bob always comes back.
- Character Development: He gradually gets over his neuroses and becomes a stable and functional human being. Ironically thanks to Leo, who spends the entire movie trying to get rid of him.
- Epiphanic Prison: At least, what Bob interprets Leo's murder attempt to be.
- The Fool: Things always end up working out for him, in spite of his self-delusion and neuroses.
- Heel Realization: When told that he's the reason of Leo's instability, Bob understands in full and peacefully leaves. That is, until Leo kidnaps him.
- Hidden Depths: He has a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of prescription psychiatric medication, most likely from years of being prescribed different things in an attempt to cure him of his problems.
- His way of helping Siggy face his fear of diving shows he has a surprisingly effective method of intrapersonal support, which is ironically much better than Leo's.
- Hollywood Tourette's: Faked. His reasoning is if he fakes it, he doesn't need to worry about having it.
- Karma Houdini: He gets off scot-free even after he drove Dr. Leo Martin to insanity. Though in complete fairness, he didn't really intend to.
- Nice Guy: For all his neuroses, Bob is honestly friendly and kind-hearted. He has nothing but respect for Leo and doesn't realize the problems he causes for him.
- Obliviously Evil: If you subscribe to the Alternate Character Interpretation that Bob is (inadvertently) the main villain, he is definitely this. He is genuinely too dimwitted to realize that there even is any problem in his relationship with Leo, much less that he himself is the direct cause of said problem.
- Stalker without a Crush: A platonic example towards Dr. Leo Marvin, believing he cannot function properly without constant psychiatric counsel.
- Survival Mantra: "I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful" and "Baby steps".
- Villain Protagonist: Depends if you see him or Dr. Leo Marvin as the Big Bad. Your millage may vary.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Decidedly the one-sided version. Leo comes to utterly detest Bob, but Bob never views Leo with anything less than the utmost respect.
Dr. Leo Marvin
Portrayed by: Richard Dreyfuss
Bob's new psychiatrist.
- Anti-Villain: While he is an asshole whose only motivation is to inflate his (already massive) ego, he only wanted to take a vacation and have his interview go right. Both of which backfire greatly.
- Big Bad: Depends on whether you see Bob, Leo, or (possibly) the Guttmans as the main villain.
- Big "NO!": When Bob marries his sister.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Big Bad or not, he only pretends to care about his patients so he can gain fame and paint himself in a positive light.
- Critical Psychoanalysis Failure: He does a completely half-assed job in treating Bob's problems in the one therapy session they have, focusing more on getting rid of him as fast as possible so he can get get to his vacation.
- Doctor Jerk: For a therapist, he couldn't care less about his patients and puts his ego before his own family. When Bob first walks into his office, Marvin listens to his case with the most profoundly bored expression before just handing him a copy of his book and telling him that it will solve everything (making a note to bill him for said book later).
- Establishing Character Moment: Bob's first therapy session is this for him. He's completely apathetic when Bob talks about his problems, giving him vague advice that could be applied to anything and has no real ability to help him. He then prescribes "a groundbreaking new book that has just come out" telling Bob it will solve everything, pretending to scan his bookshelves before pulling out his own book. From an entire shelf of them.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he's certainly apathetic towards his patients, Leo seems to actually care about his family. He seems saddened when he loses the trust of his son and called boring by his daughter. He also genuinely cares about his sister, Lily.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: At the end of the movie, he's not trying to kill Bob anymore.
- Hypocrite: One of the reasons that he gives to Bob for trying to get rid of him is that he doesn't want to be bothered by work on his family vacation. While this is fair enough, he's also agreed to be interviewed by Good Morning America about his work and his book from his vacation home. Apparently he's fine with being bothered by work on his family vacation if it involves a chance at self-promotion.
- It's All About Me: Dr. Marvin is clearly self-involved and is merely concerned with stroking his own ego over helping people. Over the course of the movie when he attempts to actually treat Bob, he gives him either vague, meaningless advice that could apply to anything, or gives him advice that really has no real ability to help him; such as telling him to simply "Take a vacation from [his] problems."
- Jerkass: He's a self-absorbed ass who has let his professional success go to his head, at the expense of having meaningful connections with his own family, whom he treats more like stubborn patients than loved ones. Though they still love him, his wife and kids clearly find his attitude difficult to live with.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While he is an apathetic, self-absorbed Jerkass, he simply just doesn't want his work following him. Especially stalking him.
- On another note, he even points out the stupidity of the fact that Fay lets Bob, one of his psychiatric patients, sleep in the same room as their son.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: The movie as a whole is more or less about tormenting him and humiliating him as much as possible, but his Jerkass qualities and bringing quite a lot of this misfortune on himself prevents him from being entirely sympathetic.
- Knight Templar Big Brother: He openly attacks Bob for being near his sister.
- Lack of Empathy: When he receives the news that Bob "killed himself", he simply says "Oh well, we can't let that ruin our vacation."
- Laughing Mad: He can't resist a fit of unhinged cackling after he has Bob committed, thinking he's finally rid of him.
- Narcissist: He really seems to like himself and is more focused on being a celebrity than a proper psychologist. Ironically, he tries to get Bob committed by telling Dr. Tomsky claiming that Bob is a "textbook narcissist".
- Parental Neglect: The fact that his wife and kids actually get along better with the intensely neurotic Bob, who had driven previous psychiatrists insane, should tell you something about what a crappy husband and father Leo is.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's incredibly vain about his modest success as an author and in getting a television interview.
- Villain Ball: He would've been rid of Bob had he not tried to blow him up.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He points out how idiotic is it to let one of his patients sleep in the same room as his son. It's one of the few things he's justified in feeling.Dr. Leo Marvin: Don't you realize that everything he's done violates the doctor/patient relationship? And now he's in there with our son!?
Fay Marvin
Portrayed by: Julie Hagerty
Leo's wife.
- Nice Girl: She's more welcoming and nice to Bob than Leo is. However...
- Stupid Good: She openly lets a complete stranger (never mind a stalker) into her home and lets him sleep in the same room as her son.
Sigmund Marvin
Portrayed by: Charlie Korsmo
Leo's son.
- The Anti-Nihilist: He's terrified of death, though he doesn't let it make him unpleasant.Sigmund: I am going to die. You are going to die. What else is there to be afraid of?
- Bratty Half-Pint: Subverted. At first, he seemed like a defiant little kid who won't dive because his father told him to. It's then revealed he's scared of death (drowning, in that case).
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: His existential fear of death could count as this. He's also quick to join Bob in jumping around and faking having Tourette's.
Anna Marvin
Portrayed by: Kathryn Erbe
Leo's daughter.
- Nice Girl: When she sees Bob running down a hill, she offers to give him a ride in her car.
Mr. and Mrs. Guttman
- Affably Evil/Faux Affably Evil: Depends on what you see them as. On one hand, they show Bob to Dr. Marvin's house just so they could spite him. On the other hand, they seemed proud when they witnessed Sigmund diving.
- Bad Liar: At first when Mrs. Guttman called Dr. Leo Marvin a "son of a bitch", Mr. Guttman claims she "never says that". She says it a second time and he claims once more that "she never says that".
- Big Bad: Depends on whether you see Bob, Leo, or (possibly) the Guttmans as the main villain.
- Evil Is Petty: Their antagonism of Dr. Marvin comes from the fact that Marvin bought the house that is his summer home and they wished to buy themselves (Leo bought it before they could save enough cash). For this, they make sure Bob sticks around long enough to torment Leo and celebrate when the building goes up sky-high.
- Everyone Has Standards: Whatever ill they wish upon Leo, they at least don't wish it on the rest of his family. When Bob manages to convince Sigmund to get over his fear of swimming, they cheer for the kid.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Downplayed. They do have some impact on the main conflict, but they have very little screen time.
