This review contains spoilers for “My Big Furry Valentine,” now on Netflix.
Ever thought, “what if When Harry Met Sally was a hell of a lot hornier and pervier?” The writers at Big Mouth sure did.
The Netflix show’s 45-minute-long “My Big Furry Valentine” dropped on Netflix today, and it heavily evokes When Harry Met Sally, featuring all the classic moments in their own raunchy way. But, in the show’s trademark style, it maintains a sweetness under the layers of perversion, furthering some storylines, romantically and platonically (mostly platonically, since almost every character is an awkward preteen), and giving a few characters the companionship they so desperately needed.
The episode starts with Andrew (voiced by John Mulaney) and Maury/The Hormone Monster (Nick Kroll) recalling how they “met” watching Must Love Dogs: “He suggests we double-down and watch Nights in Rodanthe—” “No! It wasn’t Nights in Rodanthe!” Maury interrupts. “Yes, it was,” Andrew counters. “It was Under the Tuscan Sun,” Maury says. “As much as I hate to say it, he’s right,” Andrew admits. They continue to tell the tale with more back-and-forth banter, hands on knees, and lighthearted laughter. It would be an adorable meet-cute if it wasn’t actually about how much Andrew jerked off to Diane Lane films.
The episode sprinkles in various scenes of characters with their hormone monsters, sitting on a couch with mics on, talking about when they first met—in other words, when they felt their first pangs of hormones. It’s reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally’s cutscenes to older couples talking about how they met—and likely making you cry with their adorable stories of love and romance. This time, we get the meet-cutes without the tears. (And, of course, the “I’ll have what she’s having” line makes its appearance in the episode.)
Jessi (Jessi Klein) and Connie/The Hormone Monstress (Maya Rudolph), for example, reminisce about a meltdown Jessie had after her mother, Shannon (Jessica Chaffin), complimented the color of Jessie’s shirt. “What about the other colors then, Mom!?” Jessie shouts. “That’s why that yogurt needed to end up on the walls,” Connie laughs.
Matthew (Andrew Rannells) and Maury’s first happenstance is when Matthew first had a crush on Austin Joseph (or A.J., as Maury remembers him). “I got him a sample bottle of Curve cologne,” Matthew says. “And then,” Maury interrupts, “he tried to hit you!” “So I sprayed that Curve cologne in that closet case’s eyes, and I ran away!” Matthew proclaims.
“My Big Furry Valentine” picks up where Season 2 left off, with Andrew aware that Missy still likes him, Nick coming to terms with Connie as his hormone monster (or, rather, monstress), and Jessi and Matthew going from casual friends to a true dynamic duo built on snark and judgment.
As Nick grapples with having a female hormone monster and going through changes that aren’t quite making sense to him—such as overly sensitive nipples, and just being overly sensitive in general—he rejects Connie before having an epiphany: she is the one for him. And in another When Harry Met Sally-esque scene, he approaches her at a house party to let her know his thoughts and true feelings.
“I don’t know why I pushed you away. I guess I was just scared. But Connie, I love how you take care of me and my tender nipples. I love how you inspire me to jack off. I love how your hair is like hands. I love everything about you, because Connie, you are the one for me. You’re my hormone monstress—that is, if you’ll have me.”
And, of course, the “I’ll have what she’s having” line makes its appearance in the episode when Nick shows Connie that preteen boys can, indeed, fake their orgasms as well, just like Sally did in Katz’s Diner. Except this time, the person who wants what he’s having is Rick the hormone monster.
It’s a crazy, delightfully jumbled episode, but each character has a moment of turmoil that leads to clarity. Andrew feels like he’s losing Missy to Lars; Jessi realizes that her mom deserves love, even if she hates what that entails; Nick fights with his parents and rejects their over-the-top love; Jay has a breakthrough that maybe his pillow relationships are a weird placeholder for human connections he could otherwise be making; and after feeling like there’s no one like him in school, Matthew meets someone worth swapping Instagram handles with at a Walgreens.
Even if these moments are somewhat tumultuous and don’t necessarily seem transformative, for an awkward preteen whose hormones won’t allow them to have a linear progression in life, it actually makes perfect sense.
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