REVIEW: BOB’S BURGERS “God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins”

Spoilers Below

So what does Bob get for Christmas?? A letter from his attorney stating that his Uncle Ernie has passed on and he had left Bob a storage unit with supposedly a bunch of shit inside. The kids thought there would be money but inside they meet a guy named Chet of which Linda convinces Bob to let him move into the basement.  The next morning, Bob wakes up to discover Chet has put together a mannequin display in the window and that its creator is part of the ensemble! That’s right, Chet thinks he is a mannequin and he stays in character all day until the restaurant closes. Turns out the new display is a money maker for Bob and Chet has a bunch more leading right up until Christmas of which Chet then has to move out. The kids of course wanna be part of the action and they take part in being part of the display and it gets so popular that the restaurant gets local TV coverage.

Unfortunately, Chet’s genius isn’t without its faults as not only does he think he is a mannequin that came to life, but that his ex-wife Nadine was also a mannequin. After telling his tale, Bob pretty much calls Chet crazy and just in case if you weren’t convinced, the newest window display is a Christmas murder display. Bob is furious, but the kid think they can help by going to find Nadine once and for all. Eventually they do find her, but Bob has to go with the kids to get her while Linda stays behind to stall the anxiously awaiting crowd.  Nadine is whole-d up at a porn shop, but after the owner gets all testy about Bob borrowing the mannequin, the kids create a diversion and take off back to the store with Chet’s wife in hand.

When Bob and the kids reach the restaurant, Chet’s got himself locked in the basement,  but thankfully Bob is able to talk him into coming out to see Nadine. Feeling inspired, Chet and Nadine fix the window display much to the delight of the crowd. However’ Chet’s luck runs out when the porn shop owner returns to reclaim his mannequin which leads to a fight between him and Chet. Eventually, the fight breaks up, and the kids agree to buy Nadine from the shop owner in lieu of buying presents sot hat Chet can be reunited with his long lost love. That said, Christmas Day arrives, and all the kids get great presents, but Chet’s got a loft waiting for him in Manhattan!

This is the kind of shit that reminds me why I do this for a living. Bob’s Burgers could have mailed it in for Christmas, give us some sort of plot about Santa, elves, the kids wanting presents, and we would’ve taken it and walked. But, instead we get a grand opus of a holiday special that featured maybe the best guest star spot of any Animation Domination show in the last year. But, unlike the other shows, Bob’s does maybe the best job on FOX in incorporating guest stars into their stories and creating characters that not only fit, but makes you BEG for them to come back. Case and point, Zach Galifianakis as Chet. Chet seems like a character that SHOULD be part of the Bob’s experience every god damn episode, but maybe its good he isn’t because that could ruin the uniqueness. Tina might also win some sort of award for best one-liners, being the only kid in America that might ask for a dry-erase board for X-mas, or ask Chet at the storage unit if her shoes should stay on or not.

That said, this episode was SO close to being perfect, and I really wanted it to be. After putting together a wonderfully soundtracked montage featuring the Kinks, we get a pretty generic one near the end. That said, Bob’s Burgers caps off the year with an animated performance that should not be missed.