Nick Kroll's Wild Year: From A Confusing Horror-Comedy To Saying Goodbye To Big Mouth

Nick Kroll is a name many people recognize, especially if you have watched his adult animated show Big Mouth. But this year, he has been involved in a couple of projects that show his range, from a dark comedy that many viewers are finding a bit confusing to wrapping up his long-running Netflix series. It has been a busy time for the comedian and actor. We are taking a look at what he has been up to and what these new ventures mean for his career.

First up is the movie I Don't Understand You. It is being called a "horror-comedy" but it seems to be leaning much more into the horror side in ways that might surprise some viewers. The film stars Kroll and Andrew Rannells as Dom and Cole, a couple on their anniversary trip to Italy. They end up in a series of missteps and misunderstandings that turn seriously dark. From the start, the movie introduces them as a sweet couple, hoping to adopt a baby, which makes you root for them. Then, things go sideways, fast.

The story opens with Dom and Cole making a video application for an adoption agency. They are answering questions about their future family. They have faced adoption fraud before so a lot is riding on this. Amanda Seyfried even pops up briefly as a pregnant woman named Candice who offers them her baby. Everything seems to be looking up for them. It sets up a nice, hopeful feeling. Then the movie takes a sharp turn, leaving that hopeful start behind.

The Dark And Unexpected Turn Of Nick Kroll's New "Horror-Comedy" Movie

Why "I Don't Understand You" Might Leave Viewers Feeling Uncomfortable And Confused

For their ten-year anniversary Dom and Cole travel to Rome. An old family friend of Dom’s has taken it upon himself to book them dinner with an old woman named Zia Luciana. Her rural "restaurant" had closed a long time ago. It means they are going to a stranger's house for dinner. On their way to Zia's, their car gets stuck in a ditch. It starts raining heavily. In a normal horror movie, this would be where they find a mad scientist’s house and something terrible happens. But for all the moments the movie seems to be setting up comedy or horror, it just stalls.

The couple eventually makes it to Zia's place. They had a strange encounter with a local who angrily drives them there. From that point on, a chain reaction of misunderstandings, mistranslations, and some old-fashioned foolishness happens. This leads to Zia getting killed. This is not a new idea and has been used for comedic effect in other Movies. But something about I Don't Understand You just does not work. It is deep in the movie's DNA. For a horror-comedy it is not funny and it is not scary. It is a strange mix of small drops of each of these things diluted heavily in what is mostly a romantic drama. When it tries to be funny or scary it feels out of place and uncomfortable.

The movie gets truly dark at times. It is not a fun, dark humor kind of way either. It makes you sit up and think, "Wait, isn't this supposed to be funny?" The differences in mood are staggering. When the credits rolled I thought perhaps it was cultural differences. The movie was made in Italy with an Italian crew. Humor does vary between nations. Italian humor is known for being darker or ironic. But no, it was written and directed by two Americans. A possible explanation is that the movie is saying Americans are not to be trusted on foreign soil. They might just mess everything up by not understanding other cultures properly. This is a tough take on the movie's overall message.

The writers and directors Brian Crano and David Joseph Craig are a real-life couple. Their adopted son even appears briefly as Dom and Cole's long-awaited child in the movie. It is clear they put a lot of themselves into the more heartfelt parts of the movie. Dom and Cole seem like a sweet couple for most of the film. This makes it sad to see their more brutal sides appear when their crazy actions in rural Italy push them into survival mode. By the end of the whole event, you are not sure you like them as people anymore. It makes you question their judgment as partners or parents. Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed again. Their long, strange night at Zia's house opened many of them.

But then the movie just moves past it all quickly. It puts the duo back where they started, no worse for wear. A scene after the credits shows the impact of their actions on the locals in Italy. That is when the dislike for the characters truly hits. It is easy for them, a smart wealthy successful couple from L.A., to cause chaos for a foreign country's small-town people. They leave behind a huge mess of legal and emotional hurt and then just go back home with almost no consequences. I do not find it funny that a perfectly innocent man is now framed for murder. But I guess as long as Dom and Cole get to bring a baby back to their perfect apartment then all is well that ends well. This movie was a big disappointment. It felt like it had little character or depth and not much horror or comedy.

Big Mouth Says Goodbye After Eight Seasons and Reveals A Scene Too "Gross" For Netflix

Looking Back At The Animated Series' End And Nick Kroll's Surprising Confessions

After eight seasons and 81 episodes Netflix’s animated series Big Mouth finished its run on May 23, 2025. Created by Andrew Goldberg, Nick Kroll, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett, the show hilariously showed the struggles of puberty. It followed Nick Birch, voiced by Nick Kroll, and his friends as their bodies changed through middle school into their teenage years. Hormone Monsters gave them questionable advice as they dealt with nature’s tough changes.

To celebrate the show being Netflix’s longest-running scripted animated series, the studio gathered the main voice cast for a live table read of the final episode, "The Great Unknown." In this last episode, the main kids, now teenagers in high school, go back to Bridgeton Middle School to remember their time there before it is torn down. They are reunited and think about the changes they have gone through, personally and together, with guidance from their Hormone Monsters. Executive producer Mark Levin hosted the event. He talked about Big Mouth's impact and lasting presence at Netflix. Many cast members joined him including Kroll, John Mulaney, Jason Mantzoukas, Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, and Jessi Klein.

There were many tears from the cast during the table read, including Kroll. The characters in the script entered the bright, white light of Bridgeton, representing their clear futures ahead of them. The last two characters to enter were best friends Nick and Andrew Glouberman, voiced by Mulaney. They held hands and stepped confidently into the unknown together. The entire group received a standing ovation from the audience. Kroll thanked everyone there and the crew. He called it "a literal experience of a lifetime," adding that "as long as the internet doesn’t stop existing, people will be able to watch this show for a really long time."

Even though you might think Big Mouth could not get any more shocking, Nick Kroll revealed a scene that Netflix actually asked them to cut. He said, "Maury [Kroll] was allowed to have sex with the decapitated skull of Garrison Keillor, and this was before Keillor went down, mind you, and [Netflix] still let that go." He is talking about the real-life situation with Keillor, which was well after the show. He then laughed as he explained the scene that Netflix found too much. "But there’s another moment in that scene where…Rick takes a thermometer out of his sick little dick, and a little bit of blood spurts out," Kroll said. "It’s the grossest thing. Netflix was like, ‘Could you maybe…’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, we saw.’" This shows that even for a show like Big Mouth, there were still some lines they could not cross.

What Is Next For Nick Kroll After The End Of Big Mouth?

From Voice Acting To Other Comedy Projects And The Future Of His Career

Next up for Kroll is a part in the new Smurfs movie. He shared that he is playing a "bad guy wizard" who is part of villain Gargamel’s "crew." He said he genuinely does not know his character’s name. The film has a lot of big names. Rihanna plays Smurfette. John Goodman plays Papa Smurf with Amy Sedaris as Mama Smurf. Other stars include Sandra Oh, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Dan Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Octavia Spencer, and James Corden.

Kroll joked that he produced Rihanna’s music for the movie after working on her long-awaited next album. He cracked, "They threw me a bone and were like, ‘Wanna do some lines?’ [in ‘Smurfs’] I said, ‘I’d love to.’" This shows his continued work in voice acting which has been a big part of his career, especially with Big Mouth. It is clear that while Big Mouth might be over, Nick Kroll is not slowing down. He continues to take on interesting roles both on screen and behind the microphone. His willingness to try different types of projects keeps his career varied and exciting for fans. He has shown he can do dark comedy as well as animated shows and family films. It is fun to see what he will do next.