Kumail Nanjiani is a Pakistani born character actor probably best known for his role on HBO's very funny tech comedy "Silicon Valley". "The Big Sick" is an autobiographical take on how he met his American born wife Emily V. Gordon, who co-wrote the screenplay along with Nanjiani. So as to not give away any major plot points I'm not going to delve too deeply other than Emily gets sick and is placed in a medically induced coma shortly after breaking up with Nanjiani, the movie is about what takes place after this even.
What I will say is that "The Big Sick" is a mix of "Terms of Endearment" and "(500) Days of Summer." It is a refreshing take on love and culture in the 21st century. Had Nanjiani not written the screenplay himself it is almost assured he wouldn't have been cast to play himself due to the fact that realistically nothing about him says "traditional leading man", while the role of Gordon is played by Zoe Kazan (granddaughter of famed director Elia Kazan). The two leads play great off of each other akin to Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in another film this can take its DNA from, (Annie Hall). I want to take special note of Holly Hunter (Raising Arizona) and Ray Romano (Men of a Certain Age) who play Emily's parents. Kumail is the only one around when Emily gets sick and he has to give authorization to place Emily in the coma, this makes for an awkward meeting for her parents and him as they have never met before. Hunter and Romano are not automatically a pairing you'd think of but its ridiculous how believable they are as a longtime married couple. The rest of the cast is filled with faces you know from the stand-up/improv community, Kurt Braunohler is a standout as Kumail's roommate Chris.
What stood out to me the most during the movie was its take on culture and its stressing that as cultures we are different there are similarities as well. The scenes around Kumail's parents dinner table are some of the most honest and funny scenes in the entire movie and a confrontation between Kumail and his parents towards the end of movie is both heartbreaking and something that a lot of us regardless of creed or color have had to have. But understand that this isn't a movie with any type of blatant political agenda.
If a slow paced period piece such as "The Beguiled" isn't your cup of tea and you are still looking for a movie in this summer of busy I don't think you can go wrong with "The Big Sick". Much like the before mentioned (500) Days of Summer as well as "Little Miss Sunshine" I think this is a movie destined to have legs as it expands nationwide and more and more people are able to see it.
9 out of 10 tuna fish sandwiches
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