Good timing on this one: I’d thought I was coming to the end of my Book of Rannells reviews for a while, but the newest season of Big Mouth just dropped! As you can tell from the title, lots of big stuff on the horizon! The season premiere is a strong one, and it has room for lots of the kids to have storylines.
The kids are touring the high school in anticipation of their 8th grade graduation in a few months. As they’re paired with buddies and assigned to juniors to show them around, each grapples with hopes, expectations, and fears for high school.
We have one big plot today as all the kids take part in the tour, but it allows for numerous little threads depicting each kid’s experience. Andrew, determined not do bring “any gross Andrew baggage” to 9th grade, has rechristened himself Drew and attempts to be a normal, non-creepy guy. Nick thinks his older sister’s cool will be passed down to him, while Jessi is convinced that high school will be just as bad as middle school. Lola is ready to unleash her inner Machiavellian mean girl, and Jay isn’t sure if he’ll pass 8th grade at all. And as Missy thinks about the possibilities of gaining sexual experience in high school, she starts to question whether she wants to stay with Elijah.
To the latter, my aroace heart really feels for poor Elijah. I sympathize with Missy as well, because she’s always had a strong sex drive and isn’t wrong for wanting to experience more than holding hands. Hopefully, this season will find them discussing ways to make sure both of them are comfortable and get what they need. But back to Elijah, my dude is really going through it in this episode. It’s tough enough for him being surrounded by horny teens who constantly seem to be making out, talking about rounding bases, and/or actively coming, but then to see Missy consider that he might not be enough for her? That’s really sad.
Plenty of great lines today! Here are some of my favorites.
· When Nick imagines himself as a “legacy” cool Birch in high school, one of the teens in his fantasy exclaims, “Your sister’s cool, which makes you tall.” Nick nonchalantly replies, “Hey, I don’t make the rules.”
· Lola’s summation of the situation – “High school is every man for himself. It’s a reality TV contest to the death!”
· When Mona laments the thought of Missy entering high school with an asexual boyfriend, arguing, “You should be drowning in dick!”, Missy points out, “Um, dicks are solid. You can’t really drown in them.”
· As Andrew desperately tries to rein in his creepy instincts while surrounded by hot teenage girls, I love this back-and-forth between him and Maury – In 100% aroused voices, they say, “They’re so mature.” “Nearly ready to enter the workforce.” “On the cusp of voting.”
Also, I find it a little impressive that, even though I still haven’t seen Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I can recognize Stephanie Beatriz’s voice acting pretty easily. She guest stars in this episode as Jessi and Lola’s guide.
Now without further ado, let’s get to the Andrew Rannells! Matthew has a mini-plot as well. While Jessi is overly cynical about high school—“Damn, Daria!” Matthew exclaims in response to her snarking—he disagrees with his pessimistic bestie on this one. He’s tired of being one of the only two queer guys in school and is counting on high school to offer him more community. When Jay admits, “The odds of me graduating at this point are basically 50/80,” Matthew groans, “Ugh, see what I mean? I need to find my people.”
Matthew’s high school experience turns out to be a source of both hope and anxiety. His teenage tour guide is the fabulously queer Ocean (voiced by Billy Porter!), which sets his insecurities racing. “Ocean is truly cool,” Maury tells Matthew. “You’re just cool compared to straight people!” As Ocean introduces him to the artsy opportunities and LGBTQ students at the high school, Matthew feels like his entrance into this promised land is contingent on how good an impression he makes.
What complicates this is the buddy from his class that he’s paired with for the tour: Caleb, a recurring side character who’s clearly depicted as autistic. This was the other storyline that sent my empathy into overdrive. As Matthew uncomfortably goes along with Ocean derisively calling Caleb “Paw Patrol,” Caleb is just trying to do the best he can in an overwhelming, unfamiliar situation. Is his best in any way helpful to Matthew’s desire to impress Ocean? Not even a little. But who cares? You inspect those fire exits, Caleb!
The story does get a little Very Special Episode in places, but I like that, even though Caleb’s neurodivergence is the reason he’s a target for bullying, Matthew ultimately relates to him like another kid. He doesn’t treat Caleb like he’s incapable, and he doesn’t act like he’s something unhuman and inexplicable. Matthew handles this whole situation badly, but he also doesn’t use kid gloves around the disabled kid.
To that end, my favorite line from Rannells in this episode comes in an early exchange from these two. As Matthew, feeling intimidated by Ocean, starts to worry that Caleb will blow his shot to get in with the cool gays, he says, “Caleb, I am begging you. For one day, can you please be cool?” Caleb, with his trademark flat-facing affect and monotone voice, replies, “No, I cannot.” And Matthew just sighs and says, “Yeah, I had a feeling….” It’s one of those lines that’s hard to explain on paper, because there’s nothing inherently special about it, but it’s all in how Rannells says it, the way his panicked urgency so quickly gives way to weary resignation.
No comments:
Post a Comment