‘Big Mistakes’ review: Dan Levy’s crime comedy gifts us with wild sibling hijinks
With Schitt CreekDan Levy and Eugene Levy crafted the sweet story of the ridiculously adorable Rose family, who begin the series at their lowest point – freshly broke and horrible to everyone around them – before setting out on the path to redemption.
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In his new project, Big mistakesDan Levy and co-creator Rachel Sennott turn the tables on this redemptive arc, delivering a much darker story of a family that is only beginning its own downward spiral.
What is this Big mistakes about?
Taylor Ortega and Dan Levy in “Big Mistakes.”
Credit: Spencer Pazer/Netflix
The family in question is the New Jersey-based Morellis. Linda (Laurie Metcalf), a mother and hardware store owner, prepares to run for mayor of their small town, with the help of her spirited and annoying daughter, Natalie (Abby Quinn). Her other two children are… messier. Pastor Nicky (Levy) hides his boyfriend Tareq (Jacob Gutierrez) from his congregation, and schoolteacher Morgan (Taylor Ortega) is fed up with her long-term relationship with her high school sweetheart Max (Jack Innanen).
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However, their love life is about to be the least of their worries. When Morgan steals a necklace for their dying grandmother (Judith Roberts), she puts the couple into the service of a local crime lord. Soon, Nicky and Morgan are running illicit runs for a criminal syndicate. Do they have criminal good faith or a desire to do this work? Absolutely not. But are their positions as pastors and teachers the perfect cover? Unfortunately for Nicky and Morgan, it does.
Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega form a hysterical duo in Big mistakes.
Dan Levy, Ilia Volok and Taylor Ortega in “Big Mistakes”.
Credit: Netflix
I’ve never really been a fan of stories where people are drawn into the criminal world against their will. Again Big mistakes won me over thanks to the dynamic between Nicky and Morgan, including their blatant reluctance towards every task given to them.
Take the first episode, which ends with the couple in the back of gangster Yusuf’s (Boran Kuzum) truck.
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“This is completely kidnapping and homicide,” Morgan moaned as he climbed inside.
“Are these your last words?” Retorts Nicky, a gun in his back.
This contrast between sibling squabbles and the threat of bodily harm fuels the dark comedy of Big mistakes. No matter where Nicky and Morgan end up, whether it’s a cattle auction or a yacht in Miami, they always complain. The non-stop sniping can sometimes convey shades of David and Alexis Rose, but the series’ harder-edged thriller tone, along with the stressful music from Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Peaches, helps distance Big mistakes Since Schitt Creek.
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Levy and Ortega also establish themselves as a stellar comedic duo, feeding off each other’s frenetic energy to turn each illegal transaction into a tour de force of cringe comedy. Big mistakesThe larger ensemble is also a joy to watch, especially Metcalf as the beleaguered Linda. When we first meet her and her children, they are preparing for a family tragedy: the death of Nonna Morelli. We learn that her decline has lasted long enough that her family’s grief has turned into a kind of painful resignation in which everyone makes her sick. For Nicky and Morgan, this is an inconvenience. For Natalie, it’s an opportunity to performatively outdo her imperfect siblings. And for Linda, who is doing her best to keep her ailing mother under control, this poses an obstacle to her campaign announcement.
“Make it easier for me to die of my mother,” Linda asks her children. The line is proof of total darkness Big mistakes is ready to get, and the kind of self-centeredness we’ll face from all of the Morellis as the series descends deeper into criminal mayhem.
Big mistakes looks at the anxiety of Nicky’s double life and Morgan’s growing closer to them. But he also finds wholesomeness amidst sordid schemes, with Nicky and Morgan growing closer through their new endeavors. Here, Levy and Ortega exhibit a vulnerability not visible in their earlier, more abrasive discussions, and the result is heartwarming. (Even though these moments of reconciliation often occur at worse possible moments.) It’s a testament to the chemistry between Levy and Ortega, and it also helps set up what could be one of TV’s most compelling next sibling duos.
Big mistakes is now streaming on Netflix.
