True Story Comedy On Prime Video Turns Sickness Into Heart
The Big Sick is one of the greatest rom-coms of all time, and it’s made even better by the fact that it’s a true story. Kumail Nanjiani, who stars in the film, and his wife, Emily Gordon, wrote this screenplay based on their real-life struggles to navigate an interracial and intercultural relationship, all while Emily lay dying. It’s one of those movies you have to watch and tell everyone about.
Based On A True Experience
I happened to choose The Big Sick to watch alone in the theater on a whim. I had no knowledge of Nanjiani at the time, but I loved Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, who star as his future in-laws. When I sat down in the theater, I had no idea I was about to have my heart ripped open. Fortunately, it was put back together again.
It’s not spoiling the movie to tell you that Nanjiani and Gordon end up together. The entire purpose of the film is to explain how they got to that end. In The Big Sick, Zoe Kazan stars as Emily, and Nanjiani plays himself.
Meet-Cute
Kumail is an Uber driver and stand-up comedian who is constantly being set up by his mother to date other Pakistani women for potential marriage. Kumail, however, is fully Americanized and not interested in a traditional Pakistani marriage.
At the same time, he doesn’t want to disappoint his mother or lose his relationship with his parents. So, he sneaks behind their back and dates whoever he wants. Along the way, he meets Emily, a white woman who falls in love with him as he falls in love with her. The first half of The Big Sick is the story of these two falling in love, with Kumail never telling Emily that he’s hiding their relationship from his parents.
Down With The Sickness
Of course, when Emily does find out what Kumail has been doing, she breaks up with him. Before he can win her back, Emily falls ill with a bizarre illness that puts her in a coma. For weeks, Kumail sits by her bedside, next to her parents (played by Hunter and Romano), whom he’s never met.
The Big Sick, for all of these trials and tribulations, manages to be both funny and tragic. Kumail’s interactions with Beth, Emily’s mom, are brilliant. Holly Hunter clearly loves to play a hardass, and she does so here with delightful results. Romano is, of course, Romano.
A Critical Hit And A Fan Favorite
The Big Sick won critical acclaim and audience rave reviews, with 98 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 88 percent positive reviews from audience members. It was one of the most successful films of 2017. This film has so much heart, and Nanjiani, Kazan, and Hunter do such a great job of telling this story with their language, expressions, and heartfelt pleas to each other and anyone else who’s listening. Is it any wonder this film is produced by Judd Apatow?
Streaming On Amazon Prime
REVIEW SCORE
It is a wonder The Big Sick is not on everyone’s radar. But it should be. It’s a beautiful story of overcoming tradition while maintaining respect for culture. A story of how love can be both hilarious and hurtful at the same time, which doesn’t make it anything less than love. Stream The Big Sick on Amazon Prime this weekend. But get out your tissues first.
