It's giving Death at a Funeral meets White Lotus meltdown—doused in espresso and existential dread.
If you've ever screamed at Google Maps in a foreign country, this one's for you.
The new trailer for I Don't Understand You, directed by Brian Crano and David Joseph Craig, crashes onto our screens like a rental Fiat into an Italian ditch—and yes, that's literally what happens. Debuting at SXSW and now slotted for a summer release via Vertical, this indie dark comedy pulls no punches when it comes to exposing the raw nerve that is vacationing with unresolved trauma.
What begins as a “babymoon” (because nothing says prep for parenthood like sipping Chianti in Tuscany) quickly devolves into an anxiety-soaked spiral. Starring Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells—both delivering tightly wound chaos with Olympic precision—the trailer promises not a rom-com but a breakdown comedy. Think The Trip with less food and more relationship unraveling.
Comedy as Crisis
Let's be clear: this is not Eat Pray Love. This is Panic, Pray, Leave.
The trailer positions Dom (Kroll) and Cole (Rannells) as well-meaning Americans who, like many, believe Italy will magically fix their problems. But when their rental car ends up in a ditch and cell service vanishes faster than a bottle of Brunello, the couple must confront their crumbling connection.
The pacing of the trailer feels manic in the best way. Jump cuts, disorienting close-ups, and brief glimpses of Amanda Seyfried and Morgan Spector hint at a larger ensemble cast thrown into the emotional blender. And while Italy's countryside is stunning, the trailer is less about romantic landscapes and more about internal terrains—loneliness, desperation, and the suffocating weight of performative happiness.
Subversion of Genre Expectations
Let's talk about the bait and switch.
Most trailers sell a fantasy. This one sells a crisis.
From the opening montage of scenic villas and cheerful accordion music, you might expect a breezy Eurotrip. But by the midpoint, the tone pivots. It's clear the directors are playing with genre subversion. What begins as a postcard-perfect setup collapses into near-surreal chaos. The visual grammar shifts—wider shots give way to claustrophobic interiors, and the sound design turns crisp dialogues into overlapping meltdowns.
Crano and Craig, who co-wrote the script, clearly understand that the best comedies aren't always about punchlines. Sometimes, they're about pressure points. Their decision to highlight the “ugly American abroad” trope, without condescension but with honest cringe, suggests an awareness of both privilege and vulnerability. This is tourism meets therapy.
Comparison & Context: Couples in Crisis
Put it this way: if Scenes from a Marriage had a sense of humor and a passport, it might look like this.
Unlike traditional rom-coms that wrap conflict in witty banter, I Don't Understand You rips off the emotional Band-Aid. The trailer doesn't shy away from Cole and Dom's raw moments—shouting in rainstorms, sleeping apart, spiraling into linguistic and relational confusion.
It's a callback to films like Force Majeure or The One I Love, where the central conflict isn't external—it's emotional displacement. And the comedy? It sneaks in through the cracks of discomfort.
Will This Film Hit or Miss?
You'll either see yourself in this trailer or flee from it. That's the point.
The brilliance of I Don't Understand You is that it doesn't beg you to laugh—it dares you. It invites viewers to watch two people slowly lose their grip not just on their vacation, but on their constructed identities. And the question it leaves us with is the most uncomfortable of all:
If your relationship can't survive one misstep in a vineyard, can it survive a baby?
Would you risk emotional breakdowns in paradise? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
