A great parody of the psychiatric institution

I'd agree very much on the parody aspect but I disagree somewhat on your views. Just in the same way there are good and bad MD's, there are good and bad psychiatrists and psychologists. Dr Marvin stressed the patient/doctor relationship on the phone with Bob (and every therapist runs it differently), but from an outsiders perspective Leo didn't seem to put much effort at all into his day to day work. There's a huge divide between asking tough questions that people won't ask themselves or leading people to find their own answers (humanistic psychology; the catharsis is stronger if the patient discovers it) and throwing the minimal amount of caring into life outside fame that Dr Marvin did. Besides, a therapist can only know what a patient tells him/her. A truly goofy as the "Tell me about____" lines were, they did a good job of getting Bob to focus on what specifically bothered him and clarify vague terms for Leo. Not that I think Dr Marvin was a great therapist (especially the way he forcefully suggested Bob's wife left him).

> I think the message in this movie is people just need to be loved - that's the best medicine you can give to anyone who has any sickness of any kind.

Wow, I don't think that's the message of the movie at all. Besides, there are a lot of messed up ideas of what love is, and they sure aren't explored in this movie either.

Bob is a needy manipulator, with lots of interpersonal skills, but no wisdom to use them for suitable goals in the real world. IE he's a coward. He latches onto the psychiatrist. This psychiatrist is at the moment interested in promoting his book and using the media to further his career. Naturally that makes him look shallow, which works well for the movie. We can't tell from the simplicity of the book's hook concept whether there is any meat in there or not. Circumstances bring out the worst in him, though, for the sake of comedy. It touches on the venality of many in the so-called helping professions. How perfect that at the end Bob becomes a psychologist in conflict with Dr. Marvin in various ways.

I think the message is that society does not find it acceptable to crap your pants while thinking about risque acts with a donkey. Society is of course wrong. There's nothing better.

I'm not so sure about the "talk about moving" being lame. I've had doctors want me to open up about something I've said. It is just another method, that's all. What would you have wanted Leo to say instead?