Season 3 of Big Mouth is going to wind up being pretty fragmented here. I posted my first few reviews then took a break for Invincible, and now we’re back to Big Mouth for just a couple weeks before the new season of Black Monday starts up! I’m grateful to have all kinds of Andrew Rannells content coming out, but it does mean these Big Mouth reviews are gonna be a little start-and-stop.
Not only is this a fun episode, it’s a great one for Andrew Rannells, featuring a major Matthew plot. Never one to turn down good Rannells content, consider me a happy camper.
The theme of the day is technology and how it affects our lives – not an out-of-the-box topic, I know, but Big Mouth does it well and covers a lot of different angles. Nick has inherited his older sister’s phone and quickly become obsessed. Jay is balls deep into binging a Netflix show about a Canadian magician exploring his sexuality. Matthew freaks out over a fumble in the social-media flirtation he’s been having with a cute boy he likes. In the midst of all this, Andrew has decided to unplug in hopes of getting away from the more toxic parts of the Internet, and he’s dismayed at how disinterested everyone else seems in the world around them.
Even if it’s a little on the nose that several major characters are all deeply preoccupied with a different aspect of smartphones during the same episode, the show does it in a way that keeps it from feeling too “this episode is brought to you by the letter T for Technology.” I get a kick out of Nick’s “relationship” with his new phone, and I like that, while it plays on beats from Her, the phone’s seduction is actually about selfies and location searching and viral videos. In contrast, Andrew going unplugged is hilarious, from his smug sense of superiority at having done so to his sudden fascination with the silliest things in the “real world” (“I found a leaf!!” he exclaims to the screen-focused Nick.)
Although Jay’s plot uses technology as a through line, it’s more of a means of exploring a wider topic. His sexually-questioning magician show is both a fun nod towards representation (“Netflix has so much money that they made a show just for me??”) and a way for Jay to get overwhelmed by the seemingly ever-expanding spectrum of human sexuality, wondering where he really fits. It all culminates in a terrific musical number set in “the sexiest place in Canada” (which, as it turns out, is not “inside Justin Trudeau’s underpants”) featuring the ghosts of Prince, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and Whitney Houston.
And then, of course, there’s Matthew. This episode is quite the Matthew smorgasbord, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for for a while with the show. While Matthew’s season 2 arc leans hard into a very literal “sad little queer” trope, this new storyline is a lot more in line with the sort of plots the other kids get. There are aspects of the plot that’s pretty gay-specific – a peek at Matthew’s home life includes the “straight voice” he uses with his dad, and the stakes in his relationship woes are heightened due to the fact that his town isn’t exactly flush with out gay 13-year-olds who like him – but it’s at the same time very universal. Many young people can relate to getting along easily on social media but feeling awkward with more direct interaction, or accidentally texting their crush something embarrassing. I really like seeing Matthew, who’s normally so put together, flailing and making mistakes like the rest of the kids. (Side note: I also like that Jessi is very much his sounding board and “wing woman” here. While the show at times veers toward a “gay bestie” place with Matthew and Jessi, making him her bitchy sidekick, this episode features her supporting his plot. It’s a nice turnaround.)
Strong performance from Rannells. Matthew’s state of mind throughout strikes the right balance between cringing embarrassment, utter panic, and transparently pretending not to be bothered. I especially like his back-and-forth with Maury in the opening scene, along with him and Jessi trying to “stage” his bedroom in preparation for a FaceTime session with his crush Aiden. Also, Matthew’s straight-voice with his dad manages to be subtle and obvious at the same time, which is nicely done on Rannells’s part.
No comments:
Post a Comment