Bob’s Burgers: “Bob Day Afternoon”

Last week, we saw the lovable Bob’s Burgers. And I love the lovable Bob’s Burgers for more than just its tautologies. But there is a Bob’s Burgers that keeps at least the bulk of that charm, while adding the sublime and the ridiculous. The heart of the show remains intact, along with several moments of uncontrollable laughter (we call that “the Parks & Recreation effect”).
Bob’s Burgers hits that immediately, less than a minute into the episode. Linda mentions that Gene stayed in womb “past due,” and Gene says he wishes he’d never left. “Lemme back in there!”And suddenly, there’s total hilarious chaos.
That chaos for comedy is a stable of farce in general, and Fox Animation specifically. Both Bob’s Burgers and American Dad, probably the two best shows in the bloc right now, deploy it to marvelous effect. But they do it differently. American Dad thrives on the “anything can happen” feel, where maybe that character will get stabbed, or make out with an alien, or both. Bob’s is more grounded that that. It’ll get weird, but that weirdness is always something conceivably real, with the totally surreal stuff taking place in imagination or dreams. No, Bob’s thrives when it does chaos because its characters are chaotic.
This is what happens in families of three children, close enough in age to be friends. The Belchers are also weird: Both Bob and Linda have shown how easily they can be taken by flights of fancy. Their kids all demonstrate that, and with Louise as a ringleader and Gene and Tina as very easily led rings, it only takes one little push to lead the entire family into screaming, crying, dancing, fighting, grabbing, whatever. The best of these moments comes a few minutes further in, as Bob gears up to deliver his burgers into a hostage situation. Linda grabs him. Then the kids do. And then Bob can’t move, trapped by their ridiculous, heartfelt, chaotic anxiety. That’s what makes the show work.