Big Mouth - Season 1 Review
This review of Season 1 of Big Mouth is spoiler-free!
Grotesque comedy is something that isn't uncommon in the media world today. Along with the term grotesque, adult comedy is something that almost everyone knows of in one form or another. Netflix even has multiple series in which this is a heavy subject matter, a few of which I have found myself indulged in. Most of these series tend to be in the live-action format (excluding a show such as South Park), but with this new series by Netflix, a new door had been opened for the streaming giant. Big Mouth is a unique piece of comedy gold, and while I could tell right from the outset that it is going to be tough to swallow for a large majority of audiences. But, for those who can push past the initial shock of how open to adult themes this show is, it's a great piece of comedy.
The story of Big Mouth is rather hilarious in the grand scheme of things. Creating a show with heavy focus on puberty, masturbation, and sexual encounters is not the easiest of things. The main male characters of Nick Birch (Nick Kroll) and Andrew Glouberman (John Mulaney) are dealing with puberty and strange new feelings that they don't know how to handle. Through the usage of puberty "monsters" to show the inner monologues of these children, it really taps into the overall lives that young teens have. The stories though at some points are certainly a bit out of the ordinary. Their best friend Jay Bilzerian (Jay Mantzoukas), seems to be the one who tackles these odd story lines. In truth, there isn't much to really discuss in a large overarching narrative besides what truthfully is just the time of puberty and finding your first feelings of emotion and love.
The most important part of this show is the characters throughout. Mentioned briefly are some of the main male characters: Nick Birch, Andrew Glouberman, and Jay Bilzerian; are points of great comedy and great story for everyone. Other important characters for the story are Maurice (the male hormone monster), Jessi Glazer (Jessi Klein), and Missy (Jenny Slate). Maurice is one of the best parts of the series overall, and along with his female counterpart they create some of the best moments of the show overall. They're emotion-filled creatures and constantly show the twisting and turning of the children's emotions. Jessi and Missy are the female main characters, Jessi more of singular focus, and Missy more for building on the story of Andrew. All of these voice actors are fantastic, but the standout for me is Nick Kroll. He plays so many characters, many of which you can't tell are him. I give him such high praise for this series, including all the work he did in the background as a writer and creator.
I think I need to take time to praise the many themes and topics that this show covers with such accuracy First of all, the topic of puberty is something that this show really manages to hit on well. The boys struggle with how to handle their emotional blast that they are receiving and that's how many boys do feel when first experiencing puberty. Sure there is a large amount of comedy mixed in with these truths, but the truth of the matter is that Big Mouth manages to side step being just an everyday comedy and creates something unique. One thing also that happens in this series is that there are points of breaking the fourth wall that are absolutely hilarious. In general, the youthful themes tackled in this show are great and I applaud the writers for creating such great and realistic comedy around the subject.
Big Mouth, as I mentioned in the opening of this article, manages to create a fun story through its youthful and angst-filled characters. The themes of puberty, and sexual arousal are ridiculously hit upon throughout the series and while for many it could be too much for them, many could find great enjoyment from the show. In the long run though, I can see this being a rather divisive show because of that level of grotesque nature that it presents. I employ those though, that find it possibly to push through those opening episodes that manage to be the most disgusting and rough, keep watching Big Mouth, because it's a great piece of the comedy puzzle. And for those who can't push through the crude comedy, that's quite alright, there's plenty of comedy television still out there that will fit your tastes.
