This I Don’t Understand You interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells play Dom and Cole, a married couple trying to become parents in destination rom com I Don’t Understand You. While in the midst of applying to adopt a baby, they head to Italy to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Upon arriving, things are lovely… until they’re not.
LadyJenevia: Your performances in I Don’t Understand You have been described as being a shared one. That made me think about how we used to have these comedy teams who were titans of the genre. You had The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges. Do either of you have a comedic team up that has been formative for you to learn how to deliver a team-up comedy dynamic on the big screen?
Kroll: I would say you’ve just called us, sort of titans of comedy. I would say that’s what I’m walking away with first and foremost. Lots of them. A big movie for me was The Producers, the original movie with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. That’s not what I Don’t Understand You is, but we do sort of vacillate back and forth between who’s the propulsive, id, running things, and one who’s a little more scared or freaking out.
Rannells: Before I even realised that I was influenced by them, it was Nichols and May, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. So much of what they did, I didn’t even realise was them, and what their influence was. If given the opportunity, I will steal from them all the time, all the live long day.
LadyJenevia: One of my favourites scenes the opening when Dom and Cole are trying to record their adoption video, because the chaos just feels so real and lived in. How much of that was improv versus stuff that was already on the page?
Rannells: We filmed a version of that as the movie was starting to get financed. Nick and I sat down with Brian and David and we improvised our version of that video to use as a fundraising tool to be like, ‘This is a little peek as to what this movie is,’ and it turned out so well that they ended up putting that in the film so we reshot it. It was pretty chaotic. We did get to make up a good portion of that. My boyfriend’s kids now walk around the house saying, “Please give us your baby!” like Nick did which makes me laugh.
Kroll: And I say that all the time, all day.
LadyJenevia: Being that this is also a rom com, and I happen to love rom coms, I would love for each of you like to recommend a rom com so that people can not only add I Don’t Understand You to their watchlist but something that is personal to each of you?
Kroll: My favourite rom com is Scarface.
Rannells: Yeah, it’s so heartwarming.
Kroll: The way he loves cocaine.
Rannells: I’m not sure if it’s a rom com but I really like Baby Boom.
Kroll: Oh sure, classic.
Rannells: Written by Nancy Meyers.
Kroll: A dear friend of yours.
Rannells: Nance?
Kroll: Yeah.
Rannells: Sure, yes.
Kroll: So it’s a little biased.
Rannells: It’s a little biased but it was before I knew that. Also, just like Sam Shepard being just a fucking smoke show but it’s true.
Kroll: It’s true!
Rannells: It’s true, he’s a real smoke show in that movie.
Kroll: Is it cool that you watched that movie and now you’ve become friends with Nancy Meyers? Does that tickle you?
Rannells: It is sort of wild, yeah, that I have forced a friendship. That’s cool. Kind of like with you. I wore Nick down.
Kroll: It’s true.
Rannells: Some might say he has Stockholm syndrome.
I Don’t Understand You is playing now in cinemas.
Watch my full I Don’t Understand You interviews with stars Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells, and co-writers/directors Brian Crano and David Joseph Craig here:
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