Review: The Big Sick

Fans of the now defunct podcast The Indoor Kids will be familiar with the story presented in The Big Sick.  On that podcast, hosts and married couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon discussed video games, their cat Bagel and their relationship. For fans, this has been a long time coming to get a fully realized story of the couple's courtship. For newbies, The Big Sick will be a fresh reminder that rom-coms that stray from formula can often shift into poignant stories about love and life.

The film benefits from being based on true events and written by the two central figures in the story, who also happen to be very funny. In the film Kumail is a struggling comedian in Chicago who drive an Uber on the side when not dining with his Muslim parents. His parents are very traditional and continually try to set up an arranged marriage for Kumail. When Kumail meets Emily(played by Zoe Kazan), he sees in a very real way that he does not want one of these eligible Pakistani women. However, he is tied to his family and doesn't want to lose them. This feels like a familiar setup to many a romantic comedy. And then something happens that sends the film into new territory. Emily gets very sick and ends up in a medically induced coma.

Directed by Michael Showalter, who continues to grow as a director, the film shift tone into a meditation on what love means and how we deal when faced with the possibility of losing it. Enter in Emily parents, played wonderfully by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter. They want nothing to do with Kumail initially but soon the three characters begin to bond. It is in these moments that The Big Sick sets itself apart. The film is informed from a real life experience and it shows. As someone who has had to go through being in a medically induced coma, I can tell you how right this film gets so much of what happens.

The Big Sick ends up being less about how Kumail wins Emily and more about how he wins he parents. Anyone who has had to meet a significant other's family knows how awkward and strange this can be. The B-story here offers some insider looks at standup comedy. While some of it yields some funny moments, the film could have cut these moments and been a more effective film. Judd Apatow produced the film and you can feel the "Apatow sprawl" that he brings to so many of his films. I have said about almost every one of his films that you could cut a significant chunk out and make a better movie as a result.

At the center of the film is a real event and you can feel the honesty pouring out of the film's screenplay. Nanjiani proves he can lead a film. Hunter and Romano also create fully realized and memorable characters. Perhaps, though, it is Zoe Kazan that really shines in the film. She is absent from a huge chunk of the film and yet her presence is felt. It is a powerhouse performance that is essential to the film working. The Big Sick is funny, touching and winning in many ways and well worth experiencing.

4/5