[7.7/10] We don’t see as much of Hugo as we used to, to the point that he kind of feels like a vestige of the early years of the show where it hadn’t quite settled into its current voice. But this may be the best he’s been used and proof that he’s still a part of this warmer, less Adult Swim-influenced version of the show.
Pairing Bob and Hugo (and poor Ron) in a ridealong is a great comic setup. The sitcommy combination of Hugo needing to distract Bob so that Linda can throw him a surprise party, and dragging him to an actual health inspection so he can appreciate what Hugo does works to keep things flowing. There’s good gags in both parts, from Hugo’s price being a sad phone call from Linda to his parents, the “finance guy” turned restaurateur who knows nothing about food, and Hugo’s efforts to make Bob sick while reading the health code violations are all quite funny. Hugo’s putdowns have never been my favorite part of the show, but there’s also a certain angry patheticness to him that the show gets right here.
And that ties into the little bit of sentimentality that this one gives us. For one, I like that after all these years of Hugo being an unreasonable jerk to Bob, the show at least suggests that he’s not just a little tyrant, but is actually serving a purpose in the community. He may be kind of a jerk about it, but he’s doing his job and maybe even doing it well when he’s not harassing his ex-fiancée’s husband? Bob coming to appreciate that is a nice payoff for their long-running tension.
But I also like how it ties into the other half of the episode, where Bob realizes Linda is throwing him a surprise party, and aims to be into it even though he hates parties and surprises, because it means something to the people who care about him, especially Linda -- an epiphany Hugo prompts. There’s an old adage that if you can’t be a good example, you should at least be an extreme warning, and Hugo’s “I’d kill to have what you have” speech spurs Bob to be a good guy about something he doesn't like in a way that’s decent of both of them.
The B-story, with Linda and the kids trying to organize the surprise party after they forgot Bob’s birthday, is not quite as good for most of the run time. Linda getting no’s from all of Bob’s friends and being harangued by Jimmy Pesto didn’t do much for me. But there’s some good stuff there too. Teddy cajoling Bob about his silly e-card at a silent retreat is good stuff, and Tina’s commitment to and anger over her decorations are amusing. But for the most part this part of the episode -- including Gene’s bangs misadventure -- just isn’t as strong.
But it ends in a good place. I like the reciprocal epiphanies from both parts of the family. While Bob is learning to take the way his family celebrates him as a sign of love, the rest of the family learns to celebrate his birthday in the way that he’d want. The combination of a quiet night, with a western, warm sweatpants, a steak, and most of all his bacon weight are a nice way to dramatize the family trying to make Bob happy, his way. (With shades of Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson.)
It’s the kind of warm family lesson that Bob’s didn’t do as much in its early years, where Hugo intrusions and more off-color weirdness were more common, but it, and Hugo, both have a place in this era of the show, and come together to make a superb episode.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-09-05T15:08:16Z
[7.7/10] We don’t see as much of Hugo as we used to, to the point that he kind of feels like a vestige of the early years of the show where it hadn’t quite settled into its current voice. But this may be the best he’s been used and proof that he’s still a part of this warmer, less Adult Swim-influenced version of the show.
Pairing Bob and Hugo (and poor Ron) in a ridealong is a great comic setup. The sitcommy combination of Hugo needing to distract Bob so that Linda can throw him a surprise party, and dragging him to an actual health inspection so he can appreciate what Hugo does works to keep things flowing. There’s good gags in both parts, from Hugo’s price being a sad phone call from Linda to his parents, the “finance guy” turned restaurateur who knows nothing about food, and Hugo’s efforts to make Bob sick while reading the health code violations are all quite funny. Hugo’s putdowns have never been my favorite part of the show, but there’s also a certain angry patheticness to him that the show gets right here.
And that ties into the little bit of sentimentality that this one gives us. For one, I like that after all these years of Hugo being an unreasonable jerk to Bob, the show at least suggests that he’s not just a little tyrant, but is actually serving a purpose in the community. He may be kind of a jerk about it, but he’s doing his job and maybe even doing it well when he’s not harassing his ex-fiancée’s husband? Bob coming to appreciate that is a nice payoff for their long-running tension.
But I also like how it ties into the other half of the episode, where Bob realizes Linda is throwing him a surprise party, and aims to be into it even though he hates parties and surprises, because it means something to the people who care about him, especially Linda -- an epiphany Hugo prompts. There’s an old adage that if you can’t be a good example, you should at least be an extreme warning, and Hugo’s “I’d kill to have what you have” speech spurs Bob to be a good guy about something he doesn't like in a way that’s decent of both of them.
The B-story, with Linda and the kids trying to organize the surprise party after they forgot Bob’s birthday, is not quite as good for most of the run time. Linda getting no’s from all of Bob’s friends and being harangued by Jimmy Pesto didn’t do much for me. But there’s some good stuff there too. Teddy cajoling Bob about his silly e-card at a silent retreat is good stuff, and Tina’s commitment to and anger over her decorations are amusing. But for the most part this part of the episode -- including Gene’s bangs misadventure -- just isn’t as strong.
But it ends in a good place. I like the reciprocal epiphanies from both parts of the family. While Bob is learning to take the way his family celebrates him as a sign of love, the rest of the family learns to celebrate his birthday in the way that he’d want. The combination of a quiet night, with a western, warm sweatpants, a steak, and most of all his bacon weight are a nice way to dramatize the family trying to make Bob happy, his way. (With shades of Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson.)
It’s the kind of warm family lesson that Bob’s didn’t do as much in its early years, where Hugo intrusions and more off-color weirdness were more common, but it, and Hugo, both have a place in this era of the show, and come together to make a superb episode.