The Big Picture

The Big Sick

Aspiring stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani (portrayed by himself) comes from a traditional Pakistani Muslim family that really, really wants him to find a wife who shares the same cultural origins. But although Kumail loves his parents and wants to make them happy, he soon falls in love with Emily (Zoe Kazan), a White American. Sadly, after realizing that the young man is incapable of dealing with their relationship without being terrified of what his relatives will think, Emily leaves him. Soon after, Emily gets so sick that she ends up in the coma, marking the beginning of Kumail’s uncomfortable yet moving encounter with the woman’s parents and him finally facing the challenges triggered by cultural differences…

Inspired by the true love story between Kumail Nanjiani and his now-wife, Emily Gordon, and produced by Judd Apatow, The Big Sick is a romantic comedy that audiences and critics fell in love with at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. True sensation, the movie is now coming to cinemas to seduce all of us.

So what makes The Big Sick so refreshing in a world where rom-coms have become mostly phony and repetitive? Here’s the big picture…

Amazon Studios

An honest, funny movie about familial relationships 

Claimed “the best romantic comedy in years”, The Big Sick is a “joyous, generous-hearted” movie “that, even as it veers into difficult terrain, insists that we just need to keep on laughing.”

It truly is “a sincere example of the genre,” which boasts “a refreshing lack of self-indulgence on display” while bringing “something sharp and distinctive to the table” by “standing out for its huge generosity of spirit and its reliance on human relationships.”

“A charming, multifaceted film that never feels as overstuffed as it could in different hands, it’s […] also a family drama detailing the unusual courtship between Nanjiani, his girlfriend and her parents.”

Actors you fall for

Portraying yourself in a movie could seem like an easy task, but cinema isn’t reality, and that, Kumail Nanjiani knows it perfectly. The actor, who co-wrote the film with his wife (impersonated onscreen by the charming Zoe Kazan) didn’t miss a chance to bring a “ratio of jokes to screen time” that is “satisfyingly high.”

And let’s not omit the “perfectly paired Holly Hunter and Ray Romano” who “are such a delightful study in contrasts you wonder why they’ve never been cast opposite each other before.”

As for Zoe Kazan, the actress makes “a strong impression,” creating “an example of what a female perspective both in front of and behind the camera can do for a character who could have easily been a romantic object to be projected on to.”

Best quotes from the reviews:

“Watching The Big Sick is like fondly reconnecting with an old friend you didn’t know you missed.” – David Sims, The Atlantic

“The romantic comedy has become something of an ailed genre of late, but The Big Sick is a welcome jolt, briefly bringing it back to life with depth and wit before it inevitably returns to the coma it’s been stuck in.” – Benjamin Lee, The Guardian

“There’s plenty of juice and possibility left in the American romantic comedy.” – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times