Big Mouth review: “My Furry Valentine”

Netflix’s original series Big Mouth continues to shock and delight audiences with the hour-long holiday special “My Furry Valentine”.

Rom-coms, social norms, dating, and sex are all on display in the newest entry of the show Big Mouth. Just in time for Valentine’s day, the show returns to the sexually charged and crude world of Bridgeton Middle School, and while things are raunchier than ever, the show remains to be extremely sweet hearted and charming.

Almost every episode of the show deals with the colorful cast of middle schoolers dealing with puberty and sex in different ways, but this special takes on the clichés and annoyances that come with the holiday. We see Andrew stress about asking Missy to be his valentine, Nick deal with his masculinity, and Jessi continues to deal with the fallout of her mother’s homosexuality carried over from last season.

The show has always dealt with some deep issues ranging from sexuality, relationships, and depression, and this episode is no exception. Jay is conflicted with his bisexuality, and Nick looks at his possible Oedipus complex, and Matthew deals with how hard it is to actually have a meaningful homosexual relationship in middle school.

The thing that makes all of this so watchable and fun is the fact that is so laugh out loud funny. The parodies are on point, the cast is having the time of their lives, and the writing is so sharp, fast, and clever that my stomach is always sore from laughter at the end of each episode.

Nick Kroll continues to blow me away with how many historical voices he can pull off. There are multiple scenes where it is just him going back and forth between Coach Steve, The Ladybug, both Maury and Rick, and Lola as well. Maya Rudolph also continues to shine as Connie who is trying to navigate being Nick’s hormone monster.

Not to mention Jordan Peele’s ghost of Duke Ellington steals every scene he is in. When was the last time you heard an Academy Award-winning screenwriter do an impression of a depressed and deceased musician discuss his problems with dead Whitney Houston with a 12-year-old? Oh yeah, and he sings almost every line too.

The show continues to deliver with its musical numbers, all of which could fit into a multi-million dollar production. They are catchy, extremely well executed, and still manage to be as funny as the rest of the shows writing. Maya Rudolph belts it out, but who is surprised when her mother is the legendary singer Minnie Riperton?

Most of the episode works as a parody of When Harry Met Sally which fits these characters so well. They fit right into the style and timing of that film and make the parody feel fresh and funny.

This show works so well because everybody commits one hundred percent to what essentially boils down to a cartoon about horny pre-teens.

Have you watched “My Furry Valentine” yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!