American actor and comedian Nick Kroll marks his return to standup-comedy with Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy. The one-hour-long standup deals with Nick’s comical origins, his heroic battle with diarrhoea, and heartbreak in his early thirties.
The Emmy-nominated creator of Big Mouth bares his vulnerable side in the special and presents a familiar version of the comedian. A version that is on point with references and impressions.
-Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy Review Contains Spoilers-
The standup is layered with tickling nuances and sharp impressions and builds a whole arch of the comedian, right from childhood to his adult life.
It does not take much longer to generate rounds of laughter and later rides the momentum. Nick starts with his introduction to lactose intolerance and states how he was humiliated in several instances. The catch is that the humiliation is not felt like a dark spot in his childhood but as a defence mechanism to becoming a comedian.
This welcomes the first round of applause for Nick. As his audience acknowledges the trauma-filled career transition and switches to another series of jokes.
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Another standout moment in the special is Nick’s inner voice. Unlike all other intuitions, Nick reveals his inner voice to be a British trash talker. Or, to be precise, a strong impression of action star Jason Statham.
The entire segment where Jason Statham, aka the inner voice, gives him the heat about consuming dairy products will make you burst out in laughter.
Apart from this, there is a bit about his experience with hypnosis. How it helped him to quit cigarettes and, later, the most addictive drug of them all – snacks. Nick advances with the process and explains how a professional helped him to get over the crispy and sweet snacks. It all gets pretty meta when Nick actually plays the recordings, which lets him sleep at night. As you can guess, it is astoundingly funny.
Nick also shares the conversation he has with his mom. And makes a point to prove it as a universal way of talking to mothers. The entire analogy is hilarious and also serves as a setup for an emotional moment towards the end.
Nick Kroll is a visual performer, which is easily reflected in his earlier works. And the new Netflix special is no exception. Each moment of physical comedy is better than the last one and ultimately adds to the complete bit. The part where he imitates an Italian car rental guy is one of the best segments.
Though most of it is adult humour, the standup doesn’t venture into dark pieces. There is a baby joke in the end, but other than that, almost everything lands on the safe side.
The standup feels like Nick’s way of describing his evolution. An ode to personal instances and the reasoning behind his thought process. Ultimately, the comedian is successful in turning the laughter riot into an emotional spot by delivering an appeal to check on your mom.
Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy: Final Thoughts
The new standup special is must watch if you need a good dose of laughter. It will resonate with the right chords and make you laugh out loud. It will also leave you with parting thoughts of Jason Statham’s inner voice.
Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy is streaming on Netflix.
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