The Bob's Burgers Movie
Starring H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal
Directed by Loren Bouchard & Bernard Derriman
When a beloved television series makes a big-budget blockbuster film, it's certain to bring in lovers of the franchise, but can it also introduce a new audience to a long-running series? It's usually difficult for a television series to make it big on the big screen, but it's been done before, most notably in the animated category. "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" was met with rave reviews by both critics and audiences, and even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. After a very long wait, "The Simpsons Movie" finally hit the big screen as well, transferring the beloved Simpsons family to the big screen which again was met with critical and audience acclaim, and even introduced a self-defecating joke at the beginning of the film: While the Simpson family is watching "Itchy & Sctatchy: The Movie" in the theater, Homer wonders aloud why people would pay money for something they can see free on television, and calls everyone in the theater a sucker, breaking the fourth wall and pointing to us, the audience who indeed paid money to watch something we could see on television for free. Now it's "Bob's Burgers" turn at the big screen, and much like its animated predecessors, is also met with critical and audience acclaim - a film that I'll have to re-watch because I definitely missed several moments because I was laughing so hard at what I was seeing.
Bob Belcher (H. Jon Benjamin) runs a (somewhat) successful burger joint on the main street of the small coastal town of Seymour's Bay with his wife Linda (John Roberts) and his three children - awkward teen Tina (Dan Mintz), off-the-wall Gene (Eugene Mirman), and troublemaker Louise (Kirsten Schaal). When Bob finds out that he has seven days to pay on their loan or lose their business, Bob mopes and worries that he won't be able to find the money, while Linda reminds him to be optimistic - until a massive sinkhole opens up in front of the restaurant, restricting people from entering the establishment. Things only get worse when they discover a dead body in the sinkhole, and it seems that their eccentric landlord Mr. Fischoeder (Kevin Kline) committed the crime. Meanwhile, Tina struggles with approaching her crush Jimmy Jr. (also H. Jon Benjamin) to be her summer crush, Gene can't get his band off the ground, and Louise struggles with self-esteem after a girl at school calls her a baby. Leading the cause to find the real culprit, Louise takes her siblings on an adventure to find out what really happened, while Bob and Linda try to scrape up money with the help of their best customer Teddy (Larry Murphy), who suggests taking Bob's Burgers on the road to the wharf - with hilariously bad consequences.
When you put out a movie based on a long-running series, it's obvious to ask the question: "can I watch this without knowing anything about the series?" While "Downton Abbey" has done a wonderful job at weaving its own story apart from the franchise, "The Bob's Burgers Movie" also does a great job at it, and while it's very helpful to have at least a working knowledge of the Belcher family and their eccentric neighbors, it's not a requirement. The humor is top-notch even if watching it for the first time, and will undoubtedly have you binge-watching the series (it's on Hulu, by the way) and really appreciating the strong storytelling and animation that the show (and movie) delivers.
Running as a long episode in and of itself, the movie splits into different storylines that converse and connect to one another near the end, which is something that the series is known to do on multiple occasions. Here, the main story is a murder that occurred, and the Belcher children trying to find the real culprit before their landlord goes to jail and they lose the restaurant. Within this storyline the children have their own unique stories to tell: Tina struggles with wanting to ask Jimmy Jr. out (something she often contemplates in the series), Gene's band can't get off the ground and he worries that he's just not good enough, and Louise is trying to prove to everyone that she isn't a baby after being called one by a mean girl at school. Their (mis)adventures lead them down a rabbit hole of clues, accusations, and life-threatening situations that showcases the amazing writing of the team behind the scenes who provide gut-busting laughs as well as surprisingly poignant moments that any tween can relate to.
The second storyline revolves around Bob and Linda as they try to save the restaurant in their own way - by converting the restaurant to a rolling cart and selling burgers at the wharf. This story is more lighthearted and really gives H. Jon Benjamin and John Roberts to do what they do best - work off one another in the best way possible. Bob is always the pessimist, while Linda is always the optimist, and despite Bob's frequent misgivings, Linda convinces him to sell burgers at the wharf - and of course it doesn't go quite as planned. Yet you can sense the deep, unyielding love between these two as they bounce stuff off one another in incredibly humorous ways, leaving you gasping for air from laughing so hard.
What brings everyone together, ultimately, is the family unit, and no family on television is as united as the Belcher clan. In the series they've been through it all, and through it all they've stuck together and never wavered on their love and loyalty to one another, and the movie is no different. There's no stronger power than the family unit, and they showcase this fact in the movie in the most profound ways - ways you'd never expect from an adult animated comedy series. Again, it proves that the writing is exceptional, and the vocal talent is above reproach, along with the animation style that's more polished than the television series, giving a strong reason to actually pay money for something you can see on television for free - and one I would willingly pay for again, and again...and maybe one more time.
The Score: A+
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