Something amazing happened last Friday: Big Mouth, the best animated look at the perils and pitfalls of adolescence on television, dropped a special, hour-long Valentine’s Day special. If you’re a fan of this delightfully dirty, yet surprisingly heartfelt, series, you don’t need me to recommend you drop what you’re doing at watch the episode (it’s worth the hour, guys). But if you’re still on the fence about this wonderful series (I reviewed the most recent season here), I recommend you take the weekend, binge both seasons, and then enjoy this delightful holiday-themed episode.
Without getting too into the plot of the episode, there’s so much to love here: musical take-downs of the commercialism of Valentine’s Day, a reminder of just exactly who St. Valentine was and why there’s a love-filled holiday named after him, how complicated the holiday can be for people who are both single and coupled up, and a deep-dive into toxic masculinity (complete with the “nice guy” trope and how utterly desperate and ridiculous a guy looks when he’s convinced a girl should like him out of principle). Oh, and Maya Rudolph’s Hormone Monstress has some incredible line readings. Seriously, I’m loving this recent career resurgence for Rudolph on Big Mouth and The Good Place.
As with many Valentine’s Day episodes, the show’s various couples are prepping for the holiday in different ways, while the single characters (which means most of the show’s middle schoolers) are cursing that the holiday even exists. While there are two notable break-ups in the episode (and a particularly interesting date involving trained raccoons as waiters), the hour is more concerned with investigating why everyone feels pressure to conform to the social expectations of the holiday rather than whether or not characters will find someone to spend the holiday with. Couple the pressure of societal norms with out of control hormones, and you have a great episode of Big Mouth.
And, while the hour doesn’t shy away from delving into the personal issues of each of the show’s main characters (Jessie is still dealing with her parents’ impending divorce, Jay is still trying to suss out his sexuality while screwing every pillow he can find, Nick and Andrew are trying to figure out just who they are and why they have these strange new feelings), each character starts making some real progress in moving forward with their sexual development (in the most chaste, adolescent way possible). Cartoons with child protagonists rarely try to move the characters forward in their development, but Big Mouth doesn’t seem to be worried that the characters might eventually age out of this time of their lives. Rather, it seems to be embracing that possibility. It’s a nice change of pace.
So, if you’re looking for a pretty cynical look at Valentine’s Day, filled with laughs and some complicated adolescent moments of growth, give “My Furry Valentine” a look. It’s a great hour, and will quench your appetite for more Big Mouth.
-
Writing
-
Voice Acting
