Saturday, July 1, 2017

The Big Sick Movie Review

Zoe Kazan & Kumail Nanjiani (r) star in The Big Sick

Let's Fall in Love

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Based on the real-life courtship between Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, The Big Sick tells the story of Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Kumail (Nanjiani), who connects with grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) after one of his standup sets. However, what they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life that is expected of Kumail by his traditional Muslim parents. When Emily is beset with a mystery illness, it forces Kumail to navigate the medical crisis with her parents, Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) who he's never met, while dealing with the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. The Big Sick is directed by Michael Showalter (Hello, My Name Is Doris) and producer by Judd Apatow (Trainwreck, This Is 40) and Barry Mendel (Trainwreck, The Royal Tenenbaums.)


Nanjiani's The Big Sick is the ultimate love letter... one that puts the rest of us to shame (try topping a feature film.) Problem is, it's billed as a romantic comedy; but it plays out like a drama (especially the second hour, which is practically joke-free.) It starts off with good intentions (having sex to Night of the Living Dead) but outside of the fact that Nanjiani's Pakistani, it isn't all that entertaining or original. By the time Emily takes ill, I could barely stay awake. A decent drama (with moments of levity) but not as good as critics say.

Grade: C+