Movie Info
Movie Name: The Big Sick
Studio: FilmNation Entertainment
Genre(s): Comedy/Drama
Release Date(s): January 20, 2017 (Sundance Film Festival)/June 23, 2017 (USA)
MPAA Rating: R
A match made in Uber…
Kumail Nanjiani (Kumail Nanjiani) dreams of being a stand-up comedian and his unique blend of humor about his Pakistani life and life in America. As his parents (Zenobia Shroff and Anupam Kher) want with him to marry a Pakistani Muslim, Kumail finds himself falling in love with an American named Emily Gardner (Zoe Kazan). When Emily finds Kumail hasn’t told his family about her, a big break-up occurs…when is suddenly turned around by Emily getting deathly ill. Kamail finds himself stranded with Emily’s parents (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) and reevaluating his life.
Directed by Michael Showalter, The Big Sick is a romantic comedy-drama. The movie premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was released to positive reviews. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The Big Sick is a refreshing It is always nice to hear a fresh new voice, and though Kamail has now been around a while it is good to see him get a shot at a big picture…and it work!
Nothing awkward about meeting your ex-girlfriends parents on her potential deathbed.
Kumail helped write the script for the film with his wife Emily V. Gordon whom the character of Emily Gardner is based. With this as a basic and a different type of romance, the movie already feels both authentic and not the norm of a standard rom-com. The movie is loaded with lots of drama over Emily’s health condition, but it is tempered with rather sweet humor that is crude nor gross-out (something often skipped in Judd Apatow produced comedy. It gives the film a real mass appeal.
The cast is strong. I don’t know that Kumail Nanjiani is completely comfortable playing himself (he seems a bit challenged in some scenes), but his general awkward nature fits the role in the movie. Zoe Kazan is good as Emily, but honestly her character isn’t in half of the movie due to her coma so the real humor is with Kumail dealing with her parents Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. I generally am not a big Ray Romano fan, but he does make a good pairing to Holly Hunter so he is less abrasive to me here.
A family that doesn’t talk to each other? They are more American than they think!
Like most comedies, the film looks pretty basic, but it is kind of fun to see the repetition in a comedian’s life. You get the see how they are getting up on the stage each night and telling the same jokes each night and having to pretend like they are fresh and new…each night.
The Big Sick is a strong drama and a nice comedy. The movie is an untraditional romance (though it ends as you expect), and it is a fun path to follow. It is also nice to see the pictures of the real Emily and Kumail in the credits…with a picture of Kamail’s family which indicates that differences were hopefully mended. The Big Sick might be a bit of a one-off, but I would love to revisit Kumail and Emily sometime to see what happened next.
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