4 stars out of 5
In its decade-plus on the air, Bob’s Burgers has never reached the giddy pop-culture heights of The Simpsons, South Park, and that one with the sassy baby and the dog. But, like King of the Hill before it, Bob’s is one of those IYKYK deals, with a secret society of fans. (Well, as secret as a network show with millions of viewers can be.) Mariah and I would give each other subtle BB nods at the record store.
To me, what’s made Bob’s Burgers so special — beyond the sharp, hilarious writing, the uproarious voice acting from so many top comics, and the very real settings — is the show’s huge heart, without ever getting corny. Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise truly love each other. As do Jimmy Jr. and Zeke. And Teddy and Bob, though it’s not always reciprocal. And the characters deal with genuine emotions… I was about to list some emotions but it seems like a lot of the show is based on insecurity, and trying to overcome it.
And now we fans are rewarded with a big-screen movie. Like the series, it’s not flashy, and they didn’t really do anything to lure in new viewers (stunt voice casting, etc.). Instead we get a super-sized, slightly better animated, expectedly wonderful episode of the show. They get to stretch out, so we see more of the town. The dialogue is a smidge edgier than you can do on network TV. We get to see almost all of our favorite recurring characters. You knew there’d be songs, but here we get a couple of production numbers. Oh, and there’s a murder. (Don’t worry, things don’t get dark.)
Plus everything you want from Bob’s Burgers: Bob is worried about the restaurant, Tina is worried about Jimmy Jr., Gene has a crazy plan, Louise lures her siblings into something they don’t really want to do, Teddy wants to help Bob and Bob reluctantly agrees, and Linda is rooting everyone on. We get plenty of Kevin Kline as Mr. Fischoeder. And because it’s a movie, the action actually ramps up toward the end. Dare I say it gets exciting? While keeping tongue in cheek.
Two of the show’s producers created the newer animated show The Great North which is cut from a similar cloth of quirky sweetness (albeit with an over-reliance on puns) and I like it a lot, but Bob’s Burgers, as a series and now a motion picture, remains the (burger) king. Well done.
Jack Silbert, curator