Is there anything Bobby Bottleservice can’t do?
Well, staying faithful, avoiding sexual tension with his mother, and pronouncing “bachelorette” certainly seem to be challenges for the human trash bag covered in hair gel that is Bobby B. But if we step back and look at Bobby Bottleservice, it becomes quite clear that he might just be the most versatile character Nick Kroll has ever created. He’s certainly one of the longer running characters—up there with El Chupacabra. Even before Kroll Show ever started, Bobby Bottleservice showed up on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast and in The Ed Hardy Boyz, a webseries about Bobby Bottleservice and Peter Paparazzo solving cases Hardy Boys-style…in head-to-toe Ed Hardy clothing.
Living up to his status as a self-proclaimed “jack of all cards,” on Kroll Show, Bobby Bottleservice is dropped into totally new environments over and over again. We’ve seen him as a host on Ghost Hunters parody Ghost Bouncers, a very much reluctant gigolo on Gigolo House, a wedding planner, the host of reality series Cheatin’, and the star of The Ballad Of Bobby B: A Musical Hip-Hopera. Bobby B. has become a cornerstone for the intricate universe of Kroll Show, and while he isn’t necessarily always the standout character, his sketches are consistently strong.
This week, Bobby Bottleservice is undeniably the standout. The character reaches his maximum point of evolution by writing, directing, and starring in his own feature film: The In Addition Tos. A parody of The Expendables, the film follows Bobby Bottleservice as he assembles a “tumultuous team of rag-tag friends who understand the meaning of loyalty” in order to locate and save his ma (Paget Brewster), kidnapped by rival gigolo Eagle Wing (Jason Mantzoukas). In addition to team leader Bobby, there’s trusted companion Peter Paparazzo as the tech guy (“I am computers!”), Gian, a pair of fake lesbians played by Taylor Orci and Alison Becker (!!!), Farley (Chelsea Peretti), and CT driving the van.
The In Addition Tos is great from the first scene (in which Bobby B. snacks on some “capicol, mortadella, and coca-col” while filling in Peter on the sitch) all the way through to the credits (stunts: CT, key grip: CT, best boy/MVP: Gian, filmed by: camera—to name a few of the on-screen text gems). Bobby B. has to literally fuck his way through a bachelorette party to get into the gigolo house where Eagle Wing has his mom. Farley has to hit a high note in order to disable a security system, requiring some neck action from Peter, a shirtless CT, dirty talk from Bobby, and Gian pretending to be her disapproving father in order to get her in the right mood. But the best part is when Eagle Wing delivers his classic villain monologue and talks about his fucked up childhood which… is remarkably similar (read: identical) to the story of Harry Potter, presumably because this script was written by Bobby Bottleservice, who couldn’t come up with an original backstory.
The rest of the episode is slightly overshadowed by its anchor sketch. That’s not to say that there aren’t any funny non-Bobby B. moments though. In the promo for an all-new episode of Wheels Ontario, Mikey is met with overwhelming support from his mom and fellow students when he comes out as a “big Canadian bisexual.” This week also marks the return of C-Czar, Liz B, and their toilet baby Skylord/Pinocchlio on Toilet Dad, a reality series about C-Czar and Liz B trying to navigate their personal lives now that they’re parents.
It’s another great week of guest appearances on Kroll Show, the aforementioned fake lesbos being my personal favorite. The always delightful Lauren Lapkus also shows up on Toilet Dad as C-Czar’s boss—and almost love interest—at Plugs. Kroll Show executive producer and writer John Levenstein returns as the judge overseeing C-Czar and Liz B’s custody battle and rocks quite the #dad get-up when trying to return a plug at Plugs. Adam Pally is a little underused in Wheels Ontario as the returning closeted American college student from last season. But Ron Funches is quite the treat as a therapist in training (TIT?) who advises C-Czar and Liz B to try seeing other people. And of course, I’m always here for CT.
So while everything else isn’t necessarily bad, Bobby Bottleservice definitely does most of the heavy-lifting in “The In Addition Tos.” I sort of doubt this is the last time we’ll be seeing Bobby Bottleservice, but even if it is, it’s a solid conclusion for a character that has become such a strong facet of Kroll Show. I’m already starting to miss this show and it isn’t even gone yet.
Stray observations:
- “Are you computers, Jon?”
- “The sexually charismatic yet undeniably evil Eagle Wing”
- “I’m not gonna go down on you in front of
- I’m continually impressed by Jenny Slate and Nick Kroll’s total commitment to being as disgusting as possible as Liz B and C-Czar.
- Did Ron Funches and Nick Kroll predict Radioshack’s bankruptcy?
- There were actually some really sweet and touching moments between C-Czar and his Plugs boss.
- Love the product placement for the fake Canadian sleeping aid Moose-inex.
- “It was a moose-understanding.”