Reviewed By: Popcornicus
It’s been a while since I’ve watched a comedy movie (not sure why since I love comedies), and after seeing Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells promoting their new film on Morning Joe I decided to give it a watch. I’ve been a fan of Nick Kroll ever since “The League” aired on FX, but haven’t necessarily followed his career closely since then. I see him pop up in things here and there and generally think he’s got a knack for comedy, which is the main reason I wanted to give this movie a shot.
I Don’t Understand You is a dark comedy about a couple on the verge of adopting their first child. They decide to take a trip to Italy to reconnect and prepare while awaiting the birth of said child. Along the way they meet up with a family acquaintance who sets up a nice dinner for them in a very remote area of the country. As expected, heading off into a remote area without much knowledge of the country they are in and without being fluent in the language, things can and do go wrong.
The title of the movie here really explains its premise perfectly. The entirety of their problems stem from either miscommunication or a lack of communication. Things are said and are misunderstood, which leads to more misunderstandings. It’s a pretty simple plot that while being a bit tired, is actually quite relatable (just ask most American tourists). The difference here is that rather than a fumbled dinner order, the consequences are more deadly.
This movie starts out extremely slow. It clocks in at an hour and 37 minutes, and roughly the first 50 or so are merely setting the stage for the whole point of the movie. It takes nearly an hour to explain the couple’s situation and get them to Italy before they even make it to the remote dinner. While buildup and suspense can be a necessary and useful tool in film, it doesn’t seem very helpful for a comedy movie. The audience is going in expecting a comedy. It would be much more preferable to have you know, actual jokes happening the whole time and not only during the fun horror part of the movie. That didn’t really happen here. Maybe some lighthearted jokes here and there that don’t really land, but mostly it just feels like building up to the main dinner scene.
That said, it does get entertaining once they make it to the remote home in the country. Despite being insanely bored for the first half of the movie, I did find myself enjoying it more and more towards the end. It does take some liberties, and there are most certainly some things that don’t make any sense whatsoever, but hey it’s a fun horror/comedy so you’ve got to expect that at least to a degree. Without giving too many spoilers, the biggest flaw in my opinion was that neither of the main characters seemed to have any problems with becoming murderers, despite clearly knowing that killing is wrong. Accidental or not, they almost seemed to be perfectly fine once the dust settled and they returned home.
Overall, don’t dig too deeply in this one. It’s a surface level amusing comedy/horror that is worth a watch if it comes onto one of the streaming services you subscribe to. Don’t go out and spend money to watch it separately, but if it comes across your path and you’ve got a little time to kill, go ahead and give it a watch. There’s nothing phenomenal about it, but I also wouldn’t say I regret watching it.
Overall Verdict: This one won't make anyones top 10 list, but if you're a fan of comedies and don't mind waiting for the fun parts, this could be for you.
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