Big Mouth is a wonderful show that is incredibly hard to advertise. You can reel many people in by telling them that it is a show written by Nick Kroll and it has many great comedians in it including John Mullaney, Jordan Peele, and Maya Rudolph, but as soon as they ask what it is about, you lose most people. Big Mouth is about children going through puberty, which is not something that most people are not interested in watching. When the show was first pitched, the reviews were incredibly negative. Most people thought it was a terrible idea for a show and there was no way it would be any sort of success. However, after its first season aired, the reviews were entirely flipped. While (as with any show) there are still people who think the show is garbage, most people have decided it is hilarious, educative, and an all-around wonderful program. This show is definitely worth watching and seriously deserves more recognition, so here is a list of reasons why you (and the rest of the world) should give this show a chance.
1. Amazing cast and band of characters
This show is full of incredible comedians and very interesting characters. The two main characters, adolescent boys dealing with puberty and the many changes it brings, are played by the dynamic duo: Nick Kroll and John Mullaney. They have several friends with their own very interesting pubescent experiences played by actors Jenny Slate, Jessi Klein, and Jason Mantzoukas (two of whom you may know from Parks and Rec).
The show also has many impressive cameos like Kristen Bell who plays a pregnant pillow, John Hamm playing a plate of scallops, Nathan Fillion both as himself and as a dog that looks just like him, and Kristen Wiig who plays one of the main character’s genitals.
While the cast of this show is very impressive, the characters they play are really what makes this show so incredible. Characters such as the Hormone Monster (Maury), the Hormone Monstress (Connie), the ghosts of Duke Ellington, Freddie Mercury, Nina Simone, and so many other musical legends, make this show the stellar and fantastic thing that it is.
2. Very Unique Humor
This show is full of very quirky and interesting humor that perfectly encapsulates the glorious horror of going through puberty. There are several jokes in this show that continue throughout the entire series, and most of the humor is fast-paced. If you blink, you may miss it, so thank the Netflix gods for the ten-second rewind because if you really want to laugh, you will be using this feature a lot. Big Mouth focuses on how embarrassing it can be to be a pubescent teen trying to survive middle school. It gives reasoning behind all of the crazy things our hormones make us do during puberty in the most hilarious way. A lot of the jokes break the fourth wall and bring the audience back to their own pre-teen self which is part of the shows magic. Characters like the Hormone Monsters and Coach Steve are really the comedic gems of this entire series, and everything they say will have you laughing your butt off. It really is comedic gold.
3. Each Episode is Awesome
Every single episode of Big Mouth deals with a different issue that many people had to deal with in middle school and it is great. There are episodes on every terrible thing that middle schoolers are forced to deal with. The show takes the worst years of most of our lives and makes them into a beautiful array of comical scenes that can make anyone feel better about their childhood. The episodes are also serialized (meaning the story continues in order rather than every episode being its own unique story like SpongeBob SquarePants or Bob’s Burgers), but they are also laid out in a manner that you can start anywhere easily as long as you have a little context.
4. Great Songs and Parodies
There are so many great songs in this show that will stick in your mind for years to come. These songs are incredibly well written, well-performed, and just add to the genius of the show. Some of my favorites include “Who Needs a Boy,””Life is a F***ed Up Mess,” and “I Love My Body.” If you really need a selling point on this show, do yourself a favor and look up these songs on YouTube because they are wonderful.
5. Teaches Very Good Life Lessons While Being Incredibly Honest
This series has a life lesson on just about every topic that could be affecting teens and even some that primarily affect adults. It has great episodes and lessons on subjects such as sex, divorced or quirky parents, relationships, planned parenthood, and so much more. It also doesn’t lie about anything. It is incredibly honest, informative, and wonderful for all ages middle school and up. If you ever wondered about anything life has or hasn’t taught you, you can learn about it to its fullest extent on Big Mouth.
6. Offers a Very Nostalgic and Relatable Escape
Everyone who has experienced puberty or middle school can relate to this crazy show. If you haven’t learned that from this article already, this show has something for everyone. One of the best parts of this series is that it takes you back to when life was somehow incredibly complicated and wonderfully simple all at the same time. If you get nothing else from this show, you will definitely leave with a new-found respect for how decent your adolescence was because nothing can be worse than the rough things all of these characters go through. It is such a good show!
7. Very Sex and Gender Positive
One thing that this show does very well is teach teens to not shame others for their gender or sexual tendencies. It, unlike most of American culture, is very sex and gender positive and teaches its audience that these things are a natural, confusing, and brilliant part of human life. It also teaches people not to be ashamed of who they are and to roll with the punches. Life can be difficult, and we don’t need to make it even more so by picking on one another.
8. Surprisingly Lovely and Heartwarming
Arguably the best part of this show is that it has a lot of heart at its core. The friendships in this show are absolutely lovely, the parent-child relationships can be messy but are full of love, and the dynamics between all of the characters are very team-oriented. Somehow, Big Mouth showcases very strange and difficult topics at its forefront while remaining absolutely wonderful. Even when the show is at its most gruesome and uncomfortable, you will still find yourself rooting for pretty much everyone. It is a beautiful show.
Big Mouth is an absolute winner that deserves more attention than it gets. It has a wonderful cast, is full of amazing life lessons and songs, and is unmatched in quality and heart by almost any show out there. I highly recommend that you give it a try because it is awesome and the third season will be up on Netflix on October 4th!
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