Ah yes, the good ol’ days of the jet-black dark comedy tinged with horror. I Don’t Understand You harkens back to the yesteryear of this unsung genre with aplomb, evoking underrated favorites such as So I Married an Axe Murderer and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Anyone who has ever taken a vacation in an unfamiliar destination will instantly relate to the central conflicts here. That feeling of being a foreigner in a foreign place, unable to properly comprehend the language being spoken to you, is never a good one. Writer/director duo David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano, a real-life married couple, simply must have crafted I Don’t Understand You partially from actual experience, presumably stretched to the most preposterous depths of believability. This quirky comedy of errors could not have been complete without its two hilariously perfect leads in Nick Kroll (Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Kroll Show) and Andrew Rannells (The New Normal, Girls). Aside from a veritable Big Mouth reunion, playing a loving couple counting down the days until they can adopt gives both Kroll and Rannells plenty of room to zing off one another. Gays sure do the darnedest things!
As their ten-year anniversary approaches, vegetarian Cole (Rannells) and his sarcastic boyfriend, Dom (Kroll), prep for a long-awaited vacation in Italy. On the cusp of their adventure, a homemade plea for a potential adoption spells out a harmonious relationship with the mother-to-be (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls, Jennifer’s Body). Could she finally be the answer to their parental dreams? Interestingly, Cole and Dom have been burned before by what they describe as “adoption fraud,” which I did not even realize was a thing. Just the thought of someone lying about their pregnancy or lack thereof for free gifts both appalls and disgusts. Things appear to be headed in the right direction for the couple, but the first warning sign signals a title drop. A random drip of some unknown liquid, presumably blood, rains down on Cole from their airplane seat.
The droplet is only the first signal that Cole and Dom may be doomed. From the second they check into their lodgings, rampant homophobia threatens to cut their trip short. Watching the concierge scramble around to alter their room and referring to the couple as “colleagues” made me cringe. Encountering homophobia in the wild, especially on vacation, can sour the mood entirely. Dom’s father’s best friend sets them up for a dinner destined to be one of the best parts of their vacation. Cancelling the plans Dom had already made, they head out deep into the countryside for a hybrid restaurant/farmhouse. How can they possibly say no when Zia (Nunzia Schiano) came out of retirement just to cook them a proper meal?
Naturally, absolutely nothing about this meal goes as planned. Cole makes a wrong turn, their car gets stuck in the middle of nowhere as a downpour begins, and the duo end up hopelessly jumping from one complicated scenario to the next. Their situation grows worse by the second, begging the question of how far they would go to start a family. As with life, there are no easy answers. To call the obstacles Cole and Dom must face mere accidents undersells the insanity of their complications. Their comprehension of the Italian language and misinterpreting of direct signals goes far beyond being lost in translation.
Cole and Dom are given incredible texture as characters, and it helps that Rannells and Kroll, respectively, are committed to the schtick. A clever decision is made to alter the very fabric of the language barrier. Craig and Crano opt for subtitles to clue in the audience on the Italian, whilst leaving Cole and Dom in the dark. We are always ahead of the couple, leading to some of the biggest laughs. Situational humor pairs well with the physical comedy. After tossing a confined setting and multiple murders into the mix, the madness never lets up, ratcheting up the tension and anxiety levels of both the characters and audience. A bone-cracking good time from start to finish, I Don’t Understand You overflows with outrageous surprises, and squeals like a pygmy goat thanks to committed turns from Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll.
I Don’t Understand You screened at 2024’s Overlook Film Festival.
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