Review: Bob’s Burgers ‘Ambergris’

Spoilers Below:

Before I get started, I’d like to express my sincerest wishes that all my herb enthusiast readers had a happy 4/20 yesterday. Hopefully everyone had a chance to relax and enjoy what I’ve occasionally heard the other writers refer to as “that Gonzo Green,” for some reason.

For those who were partaking, last night’s Bob’s Burgers provided some primo entertainment. It had numerous notable guest stars, a captivating caper plotline, and lots of lines from the three greatest characters on the show: the kids.

While playing at the beach, Tina, Gene, and Louise stumbled upon a large chunk of ambergris, which the show explained is a sperm whale’s intestinal secretion, and a highly valuable perfume fixative. (It’s actually kind of interesting. Scientists believe the luxurious lumps form around sharp objects that whales eat, so that the whales can more easily pass the item.) Attempting to avoid the legal issues involved with buying and/or selling ambergris, the kids asked Mickey, the town’s token criminal (voiced once again by Bill Hader), to assist them by putting his straight life on hold to pull off a classic “one last job” deal to sell the stuff on the black market. After several double-crosses, Tina stole the ambergris and decided to destroy it, since the potential wealth had only brought out the worst in everyone involved.

In the alternate storyline, Mr. Fischoeder enlisted the help of his brother Felix (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) to fix the restaurant’s bathroom. But he goes way over the top by planning a literal song-and-dance to debut the new bathroom, which was supposed to have a minor plumbing issue fixed, but was instead completely gutted and replaced with an ultramodern, impractical loo.

In Case You Missed It:

1) During the intro, the store next to Bob’s Burgers was called: “Get A Loom, You Two!”

2) The Burgers of the Day were: Sweet Home Avocado Burger; To Err is Cumin Burger; Hummus A Tune Burger; and I Came, I Slaw, The Coleslaw Burger.

3) This episode had tons of very random, very funny lines. The most random may have been Linda talking about rich people running oddly, possibly because of all the money in their pockets: “Or it’s their big, rich, golden wieners…” she said, pausing to ponder it. “Eh, it’s probably their wieners.”

4) There were two similar jokes regarding unflattering descriptions. 1) Gene was (not actually) referred to as “that lump we found on the beach” and “the smelly lump.” (“My name’s Gene!”) 2) Teddy was (not actually) referred to as “that round thing” Louise needed help to pee in.

5) One of my favorite scenes was the one involving the kids hiding the ambergris in their parents’ bed and then retrieving it. Bob semi-correctly assumed the kids were probably putting something gross in their bed. “I’m taking something gross out of your bed,” Louise replied, to the delight of her parents.

6) Louise called Tina and Gene her “partners in victimless crime.”

7) I enjoyed Mickey’s comment about everyone at Wharf World being some sort of criminal. “Even Sally the Snowcone Lady?” Louise asked, incredulously. “Especially Sally the Snowcone lady!” Mickey replied. (Which, incidentally, reminded me of the “Especially stink beetles!” line in The Simpsons S9E14 “Das Bus”.)

8) Steve Zahn got a random shout-out in this episode. As a huge Saving Silverman fan, I approve. Oh, and That Thing You Do too. “Looks like Lenny’s goin’ fishin’!”

9) The sign that The Nose put up when he left his cart read, “Fry Again Later.”

10) Good thing Mickey didn’t think to name his hypothetical crow bar “Crowbar,” because Moe already came up with that on The Simpsons, in (coincidentally, because of yesterday’s holiday) the Season 13 pot-themed episode “Weekend at Burnsie’s.”

11) Tina, ever the sweetie, ended her double-cross note with, “Love, Tina.”

12) Speaking of love, I absolutely adore Bob’s maniacal laugh.

13) We now know how Mr. Fischoeder lost his eye: it was Felix.

The Bob’s Burgers folks did a great job with this weeks’ episode. The plot, with its faux dramatic tone and heist-style story, was surprisingly entrancing for a cartoon, and the twists and turns were a lot of fun.

Unsurprisingly, a kid-focused episode spelled success once again, with everyone shining in their own way. Okay, maybe Gene not as much as the others. I was pretty grossed out by him eating the ambergris, to tell you the truth (King Charles II be damned!) Still, he was quite funny.

Louise was definitely the episode’s star, and it was amusing to see her slowly driven insane with greed and potential riches. The various jokes from various characters about her twitching eye made for a great running gag. However, the best part of her role in this episode was the fact that it epitomized exactly who Louise Belcher is as a character. As the youngest member of the Belcher clan, she’s quite intelligent – and devious – for her age. Still, as The Nose pointed out, she’s just a little girl, and most of her power lies in her ability to manipulate most of the weaker minds that she encounters. The occasional reality check is needed to remind her and the viewers that this power is mostly imaginary.

Tina triumphed yet again, this week as the voice of reason, sanity, and morality, acting as the only character astute enough to realize how dangerous greed can be. Thankfully, we fans had numerous opportunities to hear her signature worrying noise, in addition to other humorous lines, including her suggestion that the kids tell their parents about the ambergris dilemma because “they’re pretty cool.”

Kevin Kline was entertaining once again as Mr. Fischoeder, as he wonderfully expressed the various levels of apathy that the eccentric landlord constantly feels. However, Zach Galifianakis, as the brother, was the person that actually carried the B-storyline. I honestly feel this subplot could have been done away with completely in the episode, but I nevertheless found Felix funny, with his comments like, “Burn that sad little poop corner down!” After this show and a guest spot on The Simpsons a few weeks ago, Galifianakis is making quite a mark for himself as a voice actor.

Seeing another episode featuring Mickey was a treat, considering the brilliance of Bill Hader and his previous appearances in “Bob Day Afternoon” and “Bob Fires the Kids.”

My only knock about the episode is, despite a large number of laughs throughout, there weren’t a lot of BIG ones. Still, that’s essentially my only criticism, and it’s really just due to the high regard in which I have held some previous episodes.

Hopefully, that’s a good enough explanation for my scoring of this week’s show, but if a certain rapper/writer named Achille$ has a problem with it, we can always throw down fisticuffs. Mine are locked & loaded; with one named “Danger” and the other one “Ruth.”

Ding Ding.