I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU

I Don’t Understand You hits all the right comedic notes thanks to the great duo of Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll in the lead roles who effortlessly bring a wicked sense of humour and fun to this outrageous tale of miscommunication.

Stories about travelling have always lent themselves naturally to comedy with classics of the genre like National Lampoon’s Vacation and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and more modern hits like We’re the Millers and Road Trip. Foreign countries, travelling abroad, different customs and language barriers can easily set the stage for misunderstandings, miscommunications and hilarious encounters, and that is the premise of the latest comedy I Don’t Understand You. Taking the setup of two individuals in a foreign land with no communication skills or sense of direction, and pushing it to the extreme by making the main characters an American couple who have the the stereotypical American tourist ignorance, even though the film strays into the horror genre, it is firmly a laugh out loud comedy of outrageous, shocking and hilarious moments thanks to the killer duo of Andrews Rannells and Nick Kroll.

A simple gag and premise taken to extreme lengths can work incredibly well for the comedies, and that is exactly what writers David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano do with I Don’t Understand You. Built around the language barrier and difficulties faced by some tourists understanding heavy foreign accents, the film follows a gay couple in Italy to celebrate their anniversary as things get wildly out of hand. Starting off small with getting lost and not being able to communicate with their dinner hostess, things snowball out of control and the outrageousness of the situation quickly take over as Craig and Crano lead hard into the dark comedy aspects of the story. With jokes about Duolingo, a lack of understanding of Italian transportation, misconstrued homophobia, and food and wine, the film never goes for any daring and original gags but instead goes for ones that the audience can expect based on the film’s premise. While it can be construed as safe, this writing choice by Craig and Crano allows the film to straddle the comedy and horror genre with ease, creating a film that is both full of shocking moments and is always truly fun.

On one hand, the story is so far-fetched that you would never believe this would all unfold, let alone in the course of one night, but it’s all told in such an entertaining manner that you can’t help but laugh along as Dom and Cole’s night spins wildly out of control. Grounding the story is the exploration of Dom and Cole’s relationship as the couple are trying to adopt and navigating the fears of becoming fathers and the challenges of their adoption journey, creating an emotional undercurrent to the madness. You know where the story is heading even with the wild events that unfold, which when combined with the relationship of Dom and Cole is comforting given the extremes that the story pushes the audience and the characters to, ensuring that I Don’t Understand You is enjoyable and light despite the dark places the story goes.

As absurd as the plot is, to pull off such a story you need a strong leading pair of actors, and Rannells and Kroll are excellent together. Capturing the playful banter between their couple as they go on vacation and laugh off the language barriers, Rannells and Kroll set an incredibly fun and light tone for the film’s first act. Both of them are established comedic actors, so when the plot takes a drastic turn when the power goes out, Rannells and Kroll’s timing is pitch perfect in bringing to life the grim and outrageous situation their characters find themselves in. Leaning heavily into the wacky and deadly circumstances, fighting amongst themselves but never forgetting the characters they developed in the first act, Rannells and Kroll effortlessly carry the entirety of I Don’t Understand You on their backs, never failing to deliver uncontrollable laughter from start to finish.

The film is a showcase for the comedic talents of Rannells and Kroll, but the supporting cast is great in ensuring that the jokes work. Nunzia Schiano is solid as Zia Luciana, Cole and Dom’s hostess for the fateful evening. She plays off Rannells and Kroll’s energy without uttering a single word of English, capturing the disconnect in language but still creating moments of understanding and compassion with her guests. Morgan Spector lays the Italian accent on thick with a brooding and towering screen presence as Massimo, which creates some excellent comedic moments opposite Rannells and Kroll that fully embraces the madness of the film’s central gag. And while she is largely in the film only through FaceTime video calls, Amanda Seyfried is a delight as Candice, the mother carrying Dom and Cole’s child, bringing a warmth to this otherwise dark film.

Twisted, deadly fun and flat out hilarious, you will feel bad while laughing along to I Don’t Understand You as it is one of the most demented comedies I have seen in quite some time. There are Italian getaways, and then there are Italian getaways, and it is clear that writers and directors David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano have cooked up the latter in this horror comedy that packs outrageous and shocking moments, heart and hilarious situations that ensures that this little comedy will have theatres erupting into laughter. Combining unintended murder, wine and a serious case of miscommunication, Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll light up the screen with their infectious comedic energy that makes I Don’t Understand You a laugh out loud delight despite the dark places that the story finds itself revelling in.