"Bob's Burgers" chronicles the life of Bob Belcher and his family, who own and operate a sparsely frequented burger joint where they are constantly competing with Bob's across-the-street pasta-serving rival Jimmy Pesto.
The character voices on "Bob's Burgers" are all unique and distinguishable, which only adds to the animated family's overall ridiculousness. Bob's voice is provided by H. Jon Benjamin who has extensive voice-over experience, providing the voice for Sterling Archer of the FX show "Archer," for which he received an Emmy nomination who currently stars in his own show on MTV called "Jon Benjamin Has a Van."
Benjamin's low, slightly congested voice is perfect for Bob's line delivery, as he is often the voice of reason amidst the rest of his crazy family, which includes his annoying wife, Linda voiced by John Roberts, the creator of the YouTube hit video "Jackie and Debra" and his three eccentric children Jean, Louise and Tina voiced by Dan Mintz, Kristen Schaal and Eugene Mirman, respectively.
The character of Louise voiced by Schaal, who currently plays page Hazel Whatshername on NBC's "30 Rock" is a standout among the Belcher children, who are collectively the strongest aspect of the show. Tina's hopeless romanticism and brains consistently get her nowhere, and Jean's penchant for bodily functions provide the relief for Tina's seriousness, but Schaal's trouble-making Louise steals the show with her pink bunny ears.
The animation style of "Bob's Burgers" is elongated and awkward when compared to the bubblier world of the rest of Fox's "Animation Domination" lineup. This style is similar to HBO's animated show "The Life and Times of Tim," which is, quite frankly, horribly drawn but still hysterical because of its dry style of humor.
So far, season two has featured inventive plot lines, including an adventure in a soon-to-be-demolished taffy factory, a hostage crisis with a foolish bank robber, the kids' elaborate ploy to escape gym class by faking their participation in a synchronized swimming team and Bob's brief addiction to painkillers because of a video game obsession.
The sexual innuendos have been cranked up in all of season two's episodes, and the show's writers are close to overdoing it. The adult humor is certainly funny, but the show has proven comedic in the past without these dirtier bits, and I think it should remain that way. Stand-up comedians often push this boundary too far, and as seen with Dane Cook's career, excessively dirty is not always the way to go. An interesting device that has been used this season has been the occasional appearance of comedic songs that accompany a cliche montage. Cliched montages are funny, but the songs that appear here are not terrific.
One of the funniest bits from season two came in the most recent episode, in which Bob forces his kids to go to an arcade so he can beat the high score on a video game. The kids spend their entire visit crashing random kids' birthday parties. Louise's misplaced bunny ears and Jean's multiple birthday hats amidst the jubilant strangers are hysterical as they stuff themselves with cake.
Louise, certainly aided by Schaal's unparalleled voice, has continued to be the star of the show throughout the new season. Her resolute determination to interview a bank robber instead of her father, whom he has taken hostage, is uproarious, and her resulting argument with an incompetent cop ranks as one of the best moments of the second season.
The inventive show is a refreshing respite from its peers, such as Seth McFarlane's one-joke enterprises, as it is not afraid to think more creatively in terms of plot development. The Belcher family is always in some sort of ridiculous trouble in each episode. Additionally, while McFarlane's shows often rely on dragging out jokes or cutting away to other scenes or flashbacks, "Bob's Burgers" blends dry humor and deadpan delivery of lines to make it hilarious.
While this style of humor is more particular, I think it is why the show succeeds, and it will continue to succeed if its writers maintain the consistency of the deadpan awkwardness. It would be easy to shift the show in a similar direction that comedies such as "The Office" have taken, with a change to more obviously unbelievable events and characterizations. "Bob's Burgers" works because its absurd characters say and do ridiculous things in a poker-faced manner. While it has its flaws, "Bob's Burgers" is funny without trying too hard, and you should watch it. Cue the joke-y song and montage.
