The Big Sick

The Big Sick was very warmly-received at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The Big Sick is a superbly original romantic comedy/drama based on a true story of Kumail Nanjiani and his now-wife Emily Gardner; they co-wrote the script together. Kumail stars as himself. It starts from the premise of the inherent difficulties of interracial, inter-religious relationship between a Pakistani- American comedian and white woman in Chicago who face both the normal difficulties of relationships combined with the pressures of Kumail's overbearing, but loving family who demand that he participate in an arranged marriage to a Pakistani girl. Kumail is caught between competing worlds. The situation spins out-of-control when Emily becomes extremely ill and Kumail has to deal with her parents.

The amazing part of this movie is that it deals with deeply serious complex issues, but does so with humor and grace. The screenplay is remarkable and nuanced, but is infused with a comedian's sense of humor that captures the real human comedy that exists in all personal relationships. You will die laughing when Emily's bewildered father turns to Kumail in a hospital cafeteria and asks him, "What do you think of 9/11?" and Kumail responds as a comedian should to such an outrageously stupid question. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter are excellent in the roles of Emily's parents.

While based on a true story, I'm sure parts have been fictionalized to bring the drama and the humor of the events to the screen, but it appears that the basic Romeo & Juliet premise is based on the screen writers' real relationship. The film's ability to balance the deadly serious and the comedic reminds me of the wonderful film 50/50 (2011) which also dealt with a deadly illness with a similar light touch. This beautiful film which deals so well with the complexities of overcoming cultural differences serves as a good anecdote to our charged political climate and especially with the demonization of Islam that has become all too dangerous in this country. I hope it is the breakout comedy hit of the summer when it goes into wide release in July.

The Big Sick tells the true story of Kumail(Kumail Nanjiani). Kumail is an amateur stand-up comedian. He meets & falls in love with Emily(Zoe Kazan). Kumail & Emily become a couple. Now they have to decide whether their relationship has a future, due to the massive difference in their cultures. This makes things between Kumail & Emily, complicated.

The Big Sick is a fantastic movie. What is fascinating about this film is that, it's based on the real life love story of Kumail(who also wrote the film) & co-writer of the script, Emily V. Gordon. Director Michael Showalter has done a bang-up job, balancing the romantic, comedic & dramatic elements of the movie. This film is laugh-out- loud funny but, it can also make you feel emotional, from time to time. The performances are spot on. Kumail Nanjiani is brilliant as Kumail. Zoe Kazan is spectacular as Emily. Nanjiani & Kazan share an adorable & effortless chemistry, in all their scenes together. Holly Hunter is outstanding as Beth. Ray Romano is awesome as Terry. Anupam Kher is superb as Azmat. Zenobia Shroff is great as Sharmeen. Adeel Akhtar is excellent as Naveed. Bo Burnham, Aidy Bryant, Kurt Braunohler & Shenaz Treasurywala are impressive as CJ, Mary, Chris & Fatima, respectively. The Big Sick is a must watch for romantic comedy fans. Go for it, as soon as you can.

What's more important? Your significant other or your family? That can be a challenging question when it comes to your development as a human being. While it doesn't say much about you and how you react to people, it certainly says something about their personality. Should they side with their lover, then they are willing to dodge bullets and rarely care about the opinions of other people. If they chose family, then they have a lot of beliefs in classic values don't want to lose a possible safety net from their parents.

As a white guy from a middle class family, I already have to process my thoughts if I'm going to go against my parents. I can't imagine how much harder that has to be for those from backgrounds with thicker backgrounds. A good friend of mine is marrying into a Mexican-catholic family despite being nonreligious. He's told me that it's taken him a while to win over his brides family and to be accepted into their traditions. Another friend of mine married an African-American, despite some resistance from his family. Today, I know them as one of the most loving families around. The Big Sick examines love and conflicting with traditions.

Uber driver Kumail (played by Kumail Nanjiani) is an aspiring stand up comedian who is on the verge of acquiring his big break by possibly getting a spot in a popular Canadian comedy festival. He also does a one person play about his experience of growing up in Pakistan and the U.S.A. and how he's adopted the American way of living, despite his family staying safe within their Pakistan values. This includes weekly dinners where his parents keep trying to set him up with potential women from Pakistan to lead into an arraigned marriage. This changes during one of his shows when a heckler stops his show.

Aspiring therapist Emily (played by Zoe Kazan) talks to Kumail about his act and the two end up going home. Though they keep claiming they won't do it again, it leads them to date (without Kumail's parents knowing of course). After a fight and her walking out, Kumail gets a phone call about her in the hospital. He agrees with the doctor to put her in a medical induced coma and uses her phone to contact her parents. Her father Terry (played by Ray Romano) and mother Beth (played by Holly Hunter) arrive as the two and Kumail try to help them deal with their daughter. The Big Sick happens to not only be very cute, but this is a nice examination at these kinds of relationships. You usually don't see many interracial kinships (with the exception of this years Get Out), but this one examines a lot of the complications that arise from both families opinions to between the lovers. It even manages to subvert a lot of tropes you typically find in these romance comedies, like how the couple has their "blowout" much earlier, which only makes the situation even more complicated if she recovers.

The main star and scriptwriter, Kumail Nanjuani, clearly has based this off of his experiences (just wait for the end credits). He knows how to juggle the balance of what probably happened and which moments were exaggerated. He also understands just how much he can hurt his family and how high the consequences were. Though his performance as himself was good, the bigger surprise comes from both Ray Romano and Holly Hunter, both actors I haven't seen in a while. If you think Romano is just repeating his character from Everybody Loves Raymond, then you'll be in for a surprise by how sincere his character is. While I can't spoil the best parts, I can be sure he may have earned himself an Oscar nomination.

The Big Sick also dwells into stand up comedy, which is rarely done on film, into new territory I haven't seen. While most deal with trying to be funny, this one seems to care about how much storytelling is involved. As someone whose done some stand up, I can say that the film is accurate and honest about how hard it is to get noticed. While we're not all trying to get on Saturday Night Live, we at least have different perspectives that are worth addressing.

I'll give this ten stuffed giraffes out of ten. I was taken aback with how much I liked this and hope that a lot of people realize that all kinds of love are worth talking about. The biggest sacrifice you can make depends on what you value, and I hope that this movie can help. I can definitely recommend The Big Sick.

I know, I know 10 out of 10 is A LOT. However I'm not sure how they could top what they have here. Perhaps make it a little longer?? I NEVER leave reviews but I just laughed so hard I started snorting and couldn't stop for a bit! So did a few others in my row! I think that means something. There were so many times were I was laughing hard enough to cry and where I was smiling from the joy on the screen. Don't get me wrong, it's not all roses and whiskey....but it's def a movie I think everyone should see for a myriad of reasons. I'm so glad this movie was made and that my friend suggested we see it yesterday! I know you'll enjoy it so...You're welcome!

One of my favorite things to do is go into a movie completely blind. Not watch a trailer, look at a poster, or even the cast list. It's incredibly difficult to do in today's age, especially because of how much I enjoy watching trailers, but when the chance comes along to see a movie with no prior knowledge, I take it.

The Big Sick is one of those rare movies that presents itself as 3 genres, in this case Drama, Comedy, and Romance, and it services each of those genres equally. So well that you have to mention all 3 if you're talking about the movie. It's not just a Rom-Com or a Rom- Dram, it's most certainly a Rom-Com-Dram. I haven't seen a film so effortlessly balance the 3 genres. This is all while seemingly reinvent the formula for a romantic comedy to beautifully fresh results. The Big Sick uses witty humor, charming leads, and socially important topics to give us the best film of the summer thus far.

A romance is only as good as its leads and their chemistry. Luckily, Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan grace the screen with a refreshingly awkward and charming presence. Being that I haven't really seen either of them in anything else, their relationship felt miraculously original. The Big Sick is based on Nanjiani's actual life, but this felt like a comedy unrestricted by real-life accounts while also honoring a serious subject matter that has its place. However, the two's chemistry isn't all this film has, its entire ensemble is something to behold. Ray Romano, Holly Hunter, Anupam Kher, Adeel Akhtar, Zenobia Shroff, and the various comedians do a wonderful job of rounding out the fantastic cast.

It doesn't fall back into genre clichés or tropes, doesn't fall back into an overly physical comedy (like most comedies do now), and it most certainly doesn't go the direction you think it's going to go. The Big Sick benefits from having a diverse cast and story and an impeccably funny but also poignant script. Heck, it also doesn't hurt that it takes place and was filmed in my hometown of Chicago. But the important thing is, this film restores my faith (once again) in original romantic comedies. Go see it.

+Diverse

+Original

+Funny & heartwarming

+Balances its 3 genres impressively

10/10