Plot: Louise (Kristen Schaal) helps Gene (Eugene Mirman) put on a guerilla protest production of Die Hard at the same time as Courtney’s original fall musical Working Girl.
After a summer of repeats, it’s finally time for some brand new adventures with the Belchers. Although Tina (Dan Mintz) has been getting a ton of hype since the show’s popularity peaked last year, tonight’s premiere focused on her younger brother Gene and a musical contest he contended with his ex girlfriend and school mate, Courtney.
The beginning of the episode starts out with the entire cast arguing in front of the school’s principal, all dressed up in different outfits. It’s unclear what the arguing is about or why they are not in their usual garb, but this is Bob’s Burgers, so you know it’s going to be hilarious. After some of the back and forth, the episode flashes back to the initial moment where Gene learns the school is looking for an original musical. Immediately Gene rejoices as he can finally premiere his musical adaption of Die Hard.
Shortly after, Courtney approaches Gene about his musical and asks to be a part of it. When Gene says no, she is prompted to write an original musical based on Working Girl. When Working Girl is announced the winning choice for the fall musical, Louise helps Gene corroborate a plan to showcase his musical in the boiler room of the school. They spend time organizing the cast, which is how they find out about Tina’s decision to join the competition.
Now, why would Tina join the rival musical? The answer is simple and obvious: Jimmy Pesto Jr. and his cute butt! As soon as they revealed the scene where we discover this decision, it made me laugh so hard that I had to rewind and watch it twice. I just love the scenes where Tina is ogling a boy’s butt because this is her character in her element. It’s even better when it’s Jimmy Pesto Jr. because he doesn’t get enough screen time.
With that classic Bob’s Burger idiosyncrasy in play, I was at the edge of my seat waiting for another. It’s hard not to get sick of seeing Louise’s conniving, Bob (H. John Benjamin)’s willingness to do just about anything, or Linda (John Roberts)’s ruthlessness. So with that said, I was happy to see Linda get excited that her own kids were following in her competitive footsteps. As she bounced back and forth between plays, you can tell how thrilling it was for her to be a part of this musical rivalry.
After one more Jimmy Pesto Jr. and Tina butt scene (hooray!), the episode concludes with Gene reconciling with Courtney, and joining her play as a lead. This was funny. Predictable, but funny. I kind of wish we are thrown a cliffhanger or a weird twist once in a while, but I also wouldn’t want the writers to ruin what the show already has going for it. The beauty of this show is that it isn’t trying to be edgy, and that simplicity and subsequent awkwardness is what’s going to make it Emmy award winning for years to come.
Rating: 7/10
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As the Managing Editor, Lauren Stern is responsible for curating Pop-Break.com’s content. This includes managing the editorial staff, coordinating the content calendar, and assigning publishing dates and deadlines. She graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism and Philosophy. She spends her free time searching for the best gluten-free food in the Tri-State area, playing with her dogs, and reading an insane amount of books. She tweets constantly about pop culture and social issues and hopes you follow her musings @laurenpstern.
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