'I Don’t Understand You' Review: Two Gay Stooges Lost in Translation | SXSW 2024
Tanya McQuoid from The White Lotus was probably right to fear the gays because they’re out here slaying, literally. At least Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells do as they portray a gay married couple doing “very bad things” during an Italian vacation in spouse director/writer team Brian Crano and David Craig's I Don't Understand You. Crano and Craig colorfully package the fears of fatherhood and foster them in a darkly comedic screwball film, delivering laughs even in the face of the worst thing that can happen when one is in a foreign land: being lost in translation.
Photo Credit: DP: Lowell Meyer
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 36 Minutes
Production Companies: Pinky Promise
Distributor: Focus Features
Director: Brian Crano & David Craig
Writer: Brian Crano & David Craig
Cast: Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells, Nunzia Schiano, Morgan Spector, Eleonora Romandini
Release Date: N/A
SXSW 2024 Coverage
American couple Dom (Kroll) and Cole (Rannells) are thrilled yet nervous over the opportunity to be surrogate fathers to a carrier, Candice (Amanda Seyfried). They go to Italy for a vacation to celebrate their 10th anniversary and their future child. The trip seems smooth until they take a wrong turn in their rental car on the way to dinner. When their car breaks down in the woods, a storm breaks and a stranger comes. Lost in translation and going off terrible vibes, Cole and Dom's relationship is tested as they become victims of circumstance, leading to a suspenseful turn of events.
If you're a fan of Big Mouth like I am, then you're already familiar with Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells' comedic stylings as Nick and Matthew. Imagine if Nick turned out to be gay and married Matthew in the future, and Matthew replaced his prudish personality with Jay-like idiocy. Boom, you have Cole and Dom's dynamic. The sharp, witty, dry humor within Kroll and Rannells' familiar animated counterparts translates swimmingly to live-action. Essentially, Cole and Dom are cartoonishly dumb, like gay stooges where they're both Moe and Curly. They naturally bounce off each other's lively comedic energy, making their characters' longtime romantic dynamic believable. At the same time, you feel the history of the performers’ friendship as their chemistry operates at full force in every scene. Rannells and Kroll bring out each other's best for their usual dry line deliveries, along with little comments about whatever Italian thing surrounds them, and they always provide hard-earned laughs. It's not until shit hits the fan well into the second half that their comedic roles are in overdrive, as their reactions to the horrible things that happen to them or around them are so killer. There's one bit with Cole refusing to take off a jacket, and Kroll says "NO" like an angry toddler that made me lose my shit and has lived in my head rent-free.
Part of I Don't Understand You's strengths lies in Crano and Craig interlacing their characters’ shared fears while the horror-comedy plot is at play. It's worth mentioning that the narrative was inspired by the filmmakers' inherent fears of becoming dads. With that prerequisite knowledge, you can see them challenging themselves to picture their emotions while realizing any couple's fear while on vacation. They make it prevalent during its cold open that this couple is terrified over what could transpire when they become dads. Are they both in it for the long run? Will it make their bond stronger? Do they have imposter syndrome? It's also honest that they're more willing to vocalize their fear as their troubles heighten and pile up.
For such a short, simple screwball comedy, some pacing issues and thematic material felt unnecessary and irrelevant in the grand scheme of the story. Fairly early on, Cole and Dom give exposition to a set of friends they're having dinner with that the two were victims of adoption fraud. Yet that scene is the only time it's mentioned. So, what was the reason for incorporating it in the first place? Also, the Italian people get the short end of the American crime stick, even when they don’t deserve it. They set up some of the funniest jokes but are also a detriment to the film's tone. Like Cole and Dom, I found my morality tested as I questioned why I was laughing over something genuinely tragic and shockingly gory.
An Italian nightmare of hilarity and uncertainty, I Don’t Understand You is a sharp, witty horror comedy carried by Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells’ tight comedic chemistry.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 71%
