Director: Michael Showalter
Writer: Emily V Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani (Screenplay)
Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher, Zenobia Shroff, Adeel Akhtar
Plot: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family’s expectations, and his true feelings.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Romantic Comedy of the Year
Story: The Big Sick starts as Pakistan stand-up comedian Kumail (Nanjiani) meets Emily (Kazan) and the two hit it off, but Kumail must battle his own feelings towards Emily and his family that only want him to marry a Pakistan woman. After the two have a big argument the two go their separate ways.
Kumail finally gets his chance to go to Montreal but gets an emergency call to be at Emily’s side, this gives him a chance to meet her parents Beth (Hunter) and Terry (Romano) for the first time as the three must deal with her potentially life-threatening illness giving the three a chance to bond as Kumail discovers he can’t live without Emily.
Thoughts on The Big Sick
Characters – The characters are based on the true people so it is hard to go into details on them being good or bad, so I will just let you know about them in general. Kumail is the Pakistan stand-up comedian dealing with his parents trying to find him a bride but he doesn’t follow the same faith they do. He meets Emily which only makes his decisions harder on whether to follow his heart or not and spending time with her parents offers him the answer he needs. Emily is the student that walks into Kumail’s life, she becomes his light but when she becomes sick she brings him closer than ever to him even if she is in a coma for half the film. Terry and Beth are the parents of Emily, they are in full panic mode while she is sick but they get to bond with Kumail through the struggle.
Performance – Kumail Nanjiani plays himself in the movie, which is good to see him play a different character as we usually just seem him do a small moment in comedy movies but here he stars as a real person that could be one of the best performances in a comedy in years. Zoe Kazan is one of the actress that you can say, we need you in a romantic comedy drama, she will be on the top of every one’s list. Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are both great in the supporting roles showing they can be great in parent roles.
Story – The story is based on Kumail and Emily falling in love, it shows the religious sides holding up the Kumail being able to make a decision, while given the moment in his life where he must make the decision that he wants more than anything. This is a love story, not an easy one but a real one which is the most important one to see.
Comedy/Romance – The comedy in this film is mostly stand-up and a defensive side to hide from the truth, the romance comes from how the two fall in love through difficult situation.
Settings – The settings don’t go into too much details, we have the hospital to show the desperate mindset they are in, the comedy club shows a future Kumail could have and the apartments to show the normal lives they are both living.
Scene of the Movie – Parent’s watching the stand up.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Certain moments at the stand-up show try to put too many jokes in.
Tagline – An Awkward True Story
Final Thoughts – This is a romantic comedy with a heart that is based on a true story that shows us love can come from any direction even when you weren’t expecting it.
Overall: One of the Must watch movies of the year.
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