The plot for the Big Sick is simple enough. Boy meets girl. In this version of that old story boy is a Pakistani immigrant and an aspiring stand up comedian. Girl is a mid Western charmer working toward a masters degree in psychology. The tried and true plot then proceeds.
But, then after we get to the boy loses girl part, we walk into the serious twist on the old plot. Girl is stricken with a rapidly progressing infection, and is put under with an induced coma, while the doctors work fiercely simply to diagnose the mysterious malady.
Hilarity ensues.
Okay, maybe not hilarity. However, it is in fact a romantic comedy. And it works. It works soup to nuts. In large part it does so because it is also an exploration of the human heart and the complexities of our lives.
Way back in my childhood there was a book and a movie with the catch phrase “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” As someone who has actually been in love and isn’t a sociopath (despite one some friends might think on that particular subject), I find that one of the singularly stupid lines foisted upon an unsuspecting public.
The Big Sick offers a corrective. As Manohla Dargis says in her New York Times review of the film tells us “Love means having to say you’re sorry – early and often.” And the Big Sick delivers on that premise, with nuance, heart, and lots and lots of humor.
The script is by real life Pakistani immigrant and stand up comedian Kumail Nanjiani, and his wife Emily Gordon. The film is directed by Michael Showalter.
The plot is in fact based on Mr Nanjiani and Ms Gordon’s real life story. And so Mr Nanjiani plays a character based fairly closely on himself. As the story unfolds we see the struggles of a first generation immigrant caught between the traditions of his parents’ world and the world they brought him to.
Mr Nanjiani is surrounded by a brilliant cast. First and foremost there is Zoe Kazan, who plays the film version of Emily. She simply lights up the screen. Her smile alone is worth the price of the film. And, a face. She has a face that makes me hope American film audiences are ready to move beyond that featureless “beauty” we’ve been force-fed for too long. The way she owns the scene makes me think maybe, yes.
Mr Nanjiani’s screen comrades on the comedy scene played by Kurt Braunohler, Aidy Bryant, and Bo Burnham are delightful. As are Anupam Her and Zenobia Shroff as Mr Nanjiani’s parents and Holly Hunter and Ray Romano as Ms Kazan’s parents. It is all tone perfect. Even the smallest parts have life breathed into them.
This is a lovely film. Small. But with hints of something larger.
At Rotten Tomatoes ninety-six percent of one hundred and ten professional reviewers gave the Big Sick a thumb’s up, while ninety-one percent of the more than seven thousand viewers who chose to share an opinion liked it. The film runs one hundred and nineteen minutes.
I strongly recommend it.
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