The Big Sick is a 2017 romantic comedy directed by Michael Showalter and stars Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano and Kumail Nanjiani. The film is also written by Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V Gordon as the story explores the real dramatic journey of how they fell in love.
The movies follows the perspective of Kumail as he struggles as a stand-up comedian and attempts to create a relationship with Emily despite the major clash of cultures. After Emily falls seriously ill, Kumail is forced to bond with her parents as they raise important questions of love and why it’s worth fighting for.
The beauty of The Big Sick is how it stands head and shoulders above the majority of other films in the genre as the film actually depicts a realistic story that also discusses love, religion and different cultures. Instead of using clichéd romance tropes, the film opts to take a more comedic stance as we are able to laugh at controversial issues due to smart writing and great comedic timing.
Another aspect of the film that should be highlighted is the performances, especially from Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, who are most famous for their work inRuby Sparks and Silicon Valley. Both actors approach their roles with such likeability that you feel like you’re actually friends with them as they tell raunchy jokes and have a sense of humanity that is often absent in most rom-coms. Jokes about 9/11 are even told in a tasteful way as each joke seems like it has been perfectly planned out and moulds with the story in such a brilliant manner.
Despite having such a compelling story, the pacing of the film does seem a little off as it feels like each act doesn’t exactly flow into each other. Although this is distracting, it really doesn’t take away from overall powerful impact that the film leaves you with as we gain a deeper understanding of the sacrifices that come with culture, family and loving someone.
Being able to make a hilarious film about such a difficult story is no easy task, yet the director and writers deliver an excellent piece of entertainment that will make you laugh and consider your life as a whole. For these reasons, The Big Sick gets a rating of 8/10.
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