In 2017, Netflix released a brand new original called Big Mouth, aimed to be an animated coming-of-age, occasional musical, comedic sitcom created by Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett. The show would be loosely based on Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg’s own lives growing up. It followed six main characters: Nick, Andrew, Jessi, Jay, Missy, and Matthew as they navigate being 7th graders in middle school, beginning to experience puberty. Now, there have been many coming-of-age shows and movies that achieve the awkwardness that is puberty and being a teenager, and I believe Big Mouth also hits the mark on this. But, many people dislike the show because they think the show’s jokes are too raunchy or that it’s weird to do since it is based on younger kids. And sure, I get where those opinions may come from, but is the show really as bad as people try to make it out to be?
Personally, I am a bit biased in my opinion for this show because I was 12 when I watched it for the first time with my older cousins, who I thought were so cool, so it does have a nostalgic feeling for me. But not only was it a fun show to watch, but its content did have stuff to relate to and to teach. The entire first season is packed with episodes with real-world topics. The first episode does not start off shy; it opens up with Nick and Andrew in class learning about female bodies, an experience that everyone has gone through. The episode touches on first crushes and first school dances, and how awkward you feel going through that while trying not to completely embarrass yourself. The second main topic of this episode is masturbation and ejaculation as a whole, which is not a topic that I feel isn’t widely talked about. I mean, the episode title is literally “Ejaculation,” the show’s creators were not shy with it, and were setting a tone that these things happen, and it shouldn’t be a taboo topic. And they didn’t stop there.
The second episode is called “Everybody Bleeds,” and it’s all about getting your first period. This is one of my favorite episodes because it is so easy to relate to Jessi’s pain here. While on a school field trip, Jessi gets her very first period while wearing white shorts. And of course, because of horrible period luck, when she goes to the bathroom, there’s absolutely nothing for her to use, not even toilet paper! She then walks around with a lumpy towel tied around her waist, and when she’s being provoked by Jay, she accidentally announces to her class that she got her period, only further adding to her embarrassment. Now, I love this because I feel like everyone who gets their period has a horror story of getting it at the worst possible time. It’s relatable, but my favorite part is they include a song, sung by an animated tampon, because why not, with the general message that everyone bleeds and that it’s okay and nothing to be embarrassed about. For years, women were ashamed to talk about their periods or told not to because it’s “gross,” but that’s so stupid! As a 12-year-old watching that for the first time, it was a nice message to hear all with comedy mixed in to make it all feel better.
The rest of the season didn’t slow down at all; it continued to have each episode explore topics that had been so taboo to talk about. They have an episode for questioning and exploring sexuality as a teen, but they make it fun by showing Andrew singing a duet with the ghost of Freddie Mercury as he tries to figure out if he’s gay. It’s an all too real experience to be a scared teen feeling different than others, and they portray this but make it lighthearted in a way that again shows it’s okay and normal. Despite most of the show creators being men, they weren’t afraid to talk about female puberty with episodes like “Girls Are Horny Too,” but even in the episode not explicitly titled for girls, they include Jessi and Missy to show their perspective on things and how they feel, and it all becomes relatable. They even have an episode more based on Nick’s older sister in high school and how she was almost pressured into oral sex by a guy, and that’s something that truly happens to people, and Big Mouth addresses that and shows boundaries and standing up for yourself and the importance of consent. This is all only in the first season as well.
Admittedly, the show does have seven seasons total, and after season 3, it is not as good anymore. Big Mouth does still touch on coming-of-age topics, but it feels more dramatized, but it still feels entertaining, nonetheless, and relatable at times. But if you just narrow in on those first three seasons, it can feel like middle school in a nutshell. It covers so many taboo topics that I would rarely hear about growing up; it could make you feel seen, but also teach you a lot. But also at the end of the day, it was a funny show. The jokes were funny, self-deprecating, and entertaining, but they felt like middle school again. With the overall message as a bow on top, puberty is normal, it’s awkward, and it’s going to be okay. Even now that I am 18, Big Mouth is still a show I go back to when I need a laugh or want to reminisce on those awkward moments.