*A few relationship spoilers.*
Season 5 starting off with a bang, in the way that only Big Mouth can. This vulgar middle-school take on “The Contest” brings plenty of the show’s signature profane humor while also advancing a number of relationship plots.
Jay and Lola have broken things off, and she’s made it her mission to get a rise out of him on social media. Desperate to stop thinking about her, Jay enlists Nick and Andrew to join him in the month-long “come fast” of No Nut November, and when Andrew proposes a bet to see who can last the longest, Jessi wants in on the action too. Meanwhile, Missy’s time-honored hard-on for Nathan Fillion is interrupted by a new fantasy.
The similarities to Seinfeld’s classic “The Contest” aren’t just lampshaded, they’re explicitly shouted out, with a fantasy sequence of the kids in the diner doing their best impressions and Andrew declaring, “We’re doing the contest. No soup for us!” Lots of good humor here. We get some new celebrity dicks for Maury (not to mention his description of cum as “mayo, hold the sandwich,”) the kids’ attempt to distract themselves with the unsexiest movie of all time, and Lola weaponizing her intimate knowledge of Jay’s turn-ons. Just for funsies, we also get a no-nut spiritual guide for Jay in the form of a vision of jacked Kumail Nanjiani. And Nathan Fillion has always been such a blast as the subject of Missy’s sexual fantasies. Here, I especially love, “Would you like to take the controls while I sensually comb my hair and make searing eye contact with you?”
But the show delivers plot on the relationship stuff along with the outrageous laughs. Obviously, the fallout from Jay and Lola’s breakup looks like it will be an ongoing thing, as well as Nick struggling with his feelings for Jessi, not wanting to jeopardize their friendship. Missy’s storyline is the most interesting to me. Her safe and familiar, albeit hilariously-intense, fantasies are shaken up by the intrusion of thoughts of someone else, an actual person in her life that she has a crush on. She’s thrown by this, not sure she should be thinking about someone she really knows in that context but also wondering if retreating into obviously-unattainable Nathan Fillion fantasies is just an excuse to avoid her real-life feelings.
While it’s a strong opener that sets up a few important moving parts while also being really funny, it’s lamentably short on Andrew Rannells. Matthew makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in one scene and then pops up again in a wordless montage featuring a whole host of characters. He only has one line, which is funny but doesn’t satisfy the level of Matthew content I hope for in an episode. Although he’s obviously had almost-nonexistent episode appearances before, this is the smallest presence he’s ever had in a season premiere, which is disappointing after a long wait for a new season to start.
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