The Big Sick

The Big Sick kind of sums up my 2017 in a reflective way. It's a movie that I probably wouldn't usually go and see in the theaters and would just wait to see when it hit streaming services. But then when it hits streaming services I immediately regret not going to see it in the theaters. I feel like there have been a couple of movies like that this year and while I've only been to a handful of movies in the theaters, there were a lot of really great movies this year.

Before I go on I should mention that there's been a lot of transition going on with me and my work the past few weeks and while I did watch this movie last month, I am just getting around to this review now. I'm hoping December will allow me to knock out some more reviews so I can end the year strong but I don't see the changes slowing down to a huge degree. We'll see overall.

The Big Sick is based on the true story of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and how he met and got together with his real life wife Emily (played in this movie by Zoe Karzan).

Right off the bat this movie plays into a story that we don't see too often but it's also not the first time we've seen it and that is a romantic comedy from the perspective of a struggling stand up comedian. It's been a while since I've seen it but I remember really enjoying the Seth Rogan/Adam Sandler comedy Funny People and this kind of reminded me of that but better. Funny how Judd Apatow directed that film and he also produced this one.

Kumail is a struggling stand up comedian in Chicago. He's trying to be noticed by agents and show organizers and basically competing against his friends, fellow comedians played by actual comedians like Bo Burnham, Aidy Bryant, and Kurth Braunohler.

Kumail also has his own problems at home as his family is a pretty orthodox Pakistani Muslim family. Kumail loves his family but he doesn't really adhere to the traditions they push on him, especially the idea of arranged marriages.

The interesting thing is that he's not just an Americanized character in a traditional household, you can tell he really does like the culture and he respects it, he just doesn't follow it to the letter as his mother and father (played by Zenoiba Shroff and Anupam Kher). But his brother Naveed (played by Adeel Akhtar) adhered to that system and Kumail is expected to as well. So night after night he is visited by women his mother wants to arrange to marry him.

But the main focus of the story comes when he meets and starts dating Emily Gardner, a white woman.

Now I had heard about the plot of this movie so I thought their relationship was going to go one way when it really didn't.

The first act is really just these two getting together and finding the differences between them culturally. It's a really interesting look at just how different people can be. Now I think there is definitely some extra drama thrown in there just for the sake of drama but it works for the most part.

But the main conflict comes later when a medical emergency occurs and Kumail is set in the middle of an awkward family meeting between Kumail and Emily's parents Beth and Terry (played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano).

I feel like I've already given some stuff away and I was only describing the plot of the movie but I also want to be vague because this really is a movie that is so layered and probably one of the best films of the year.

I really thought this was just going to be a simple comedy about how this guy met his wife, but somehow it manages to be funny, heart warming, insightful, tragic, and nuanced. It hits so many interesting levels of analysis of our world today but at the same time is absolutely timeless.

I mean first you've got the main couple in Kumail and Emily. Now the big headline when this movie came out was how it showed a relatable interracial couple. I'm sure that element of the film spoke to a lot of people and it does do good work for representation in film, but if that doesn't connect to you that's totally fine. You can appreciate that nuance while still take your own connection out of their relationship because they're very much a couple of the time we live in and it's refreshing and tangible.

2017 has really been Kumail Nanjiani's year because he just keeps on showing up in a lot of stuff I watch. He's a hilarious guy and he does great character work. He's always been a tertiary character or a cameo here and there in comedies. I think one of the best things I saw him in this year was the episode of Harmon Quest he was apart of where he was incredibly funny.

However, it was great seeing him in this film as the main character and not only that, in a really honest straight role.

He's a stand up comedian so obviously he's going to say a lot of really funny lines (a couple of them actually had me laughing out loud for a good five minutes at least), but he also gets the opportunity to show off his acting chops in this film and it was great to see him show what he could do as an actor.

A part of the film that I thought might feel forced but actually worked really well was the commentary about racism in the stand up world. Kumail faces racism in this movie and it's handled really, really well. It's handled with just enough care to give it the justice it needs but at the same time there are some jokes about it that might be my favorite jokes of the entire movie. It's not the main focus of the movie but it does have it's place in the many layers this movie has.

Zoe Karzan does a pretty good job in the film. I won't say she was the standout part of the film because that's just not true but she works well, especially when she's playing off others, especially Nanjiani.

But the best work comes from Holly Hunter and Ray Romano.

Holy crap, if these two don't get nominated for something this year at the Oscars I'm going to be actually a little bit mad because these two are hilarious, incredibly sad, and just all around a great time. There's a good segment of the movie where Kumail is just hanging out with Emily's parents and it's the best parts of the film.

Another odd layer that's added onto this film is the relationship that people have with the internet and the medical field. Both Hunter and Romano showcase that paranoid you get when you don't know what's going on medically so you Google it and it makes your paranoia so much worse. Somehow this movie is able to subtly talk about that as well throughout the film. Other subtle takes this movie had was on hook up culture, technology, and the internet culture we have. Obviously they all take a backseat to the big issues like family, relationships, and culture but still it was an interesting touch. 

Overall, there is very little I didn't like about this movie. I of course am always skeptical about the "true story" claim and knowing that it was based on a true story prior to watching I did spend a good amount of time questioning what actually happened and what was created just for the sake of creating a rounded Hollywood movie. But the fact that Nanjiani and his wife actually wrote this script makes me love this movie even more.

I had a feeling I was going to like this film, I didn't know it was going to be one of my favorites of the year. You can tell a lot of hard work and care was put into this script and the making of the film because you just get the feeling of your heart being warmed throughout the film.

I have to applaud Nanjiani, Emily Gordon, and everyone else involved because this movie is a treat.

But those are my thoughts on the film, what did you think? I know I'm a little late to the party so I get the feeling a lot of people have seen it since. If you haven't, it's on Amazon Prime so check it out. But I want to hear thoughts? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. Wanna talk about two actors that won 2017? Gal Gadot and Kumail Nanjiani. It's a long video but it's kind of fun watching these two interview each other, talk about acting, etc. Enjoy!