I Don't Understand You

My sneaking in went unrewarded here. Stars Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll (Cole and Dom) are a gay couple with a botched adoption behind them. They are on the verge of closing the deal now after ten years, an anniversary they celebrate with an Italian trip. Candace (Amanda Seyfried) does pick them, but they're on a restaurant date and miss getting the news from the horse's mouth. So the chef's son Massimo (Morgan Spector) relays the message in a way threatening their lives. A blood bath ensues. I was done with this black comedy after 70 minutes. But I love Italy and the leads are good comedians, so I reluctantly stayed. This movie stinks something awful. SXSW Festival is a small sample size. Nunzia Shiano as Zia Luciana is good also. The acting overall is fine. The screenplay is preposterous garbage. I enjoyed the Italian setting and language, so that bumps the grade. But this was cringe level bad to sit through otherwise. Seyfried shouldn't even have wasted her time in a nothing role with this tripe.

I wanted to like this movie because of the actors but I just found it cringe, detached, and disrespectful. The overarching theme here is that entitled white gay Americans travel to a foreign country (Italy) where they have no real grasp of the native language of the country they chose to visit. Through their own ignorance, they misinterpret nearly every single gesture of kindness that every native they encounter shows them and somehow that kind and endearing person ends up dead due to their clumsiness or paranoia. They mistake every Italian statement as something homophobic, or violent, or threatening and therefore make themselves victims that must defend themselves. I get it was going for the whole "Dale & Tucker vs. Evil" concept but it failed miserably.

This horror comedy is one of those comedy that comes from a silly situation created by language barrier. One misunderstanding lead to another and it kept on snowballing out of control. The jokes itself made me chuckle every now and then. But none really made me laugh out loud. So even though it's decently acted out and directed, This one doesn't seem to hit the spot. Although it's good enough for killing some time.

I didn't laugh one time. I expected a lot more from Andrew Rannells. I'm obsessed with him as Elijah in Girls, but even he can't save this. He and Nick Kroll had no chemistry. There weren't many actual jokes, just murder for some reason? A horror comedy that is neither horror nor comedy. I'm so mad I paid ten dollars to rent this. Even if it was free to stream I'd say skip it. The whole adoption premise has nothing to do with the story and was totally out of place. Amanda Seyfried is briefly in this for some reason, maybe as a favor, because this movie isn't doing her any favors either. It's so hard to find a good comedy.

In silly black comedy "I Don't Understand You" gay couple Nick Kroll & Andrew Rannells, prior to adopting Amanda Seyfried's unborn baby, take a holiday in Italy - including an evening as the only guests at Nunzia Schiano's remote rural restaurant, where the tone plunges from lightly dramatic to downright deadly farcical (in an almost "Weekend At Bernie's" stylee). Quite what co-writers / co-directors Brian Crano & first-timer Daniel Joseph Craig were aiming for is unclear, but their film is certainly eye-brow raising, often amusing, and has decent performances (esp Rannells')... but it's still a curious mish-mash that'll leave many more perplexed than entertained.