The Big Sick

Proving once again that life is stranger than fiction, this charming, heartfelt and witty romantic comedy is written by real-life couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, and is loosely based on the true story of how they met.

Premise:  Struggling stand-up comedian Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) meets grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) after she heckles him at a show, but just when their nascent romance is being threatened by Kumail’s family’s hostility towards interracial relationships, Emily contracts a mysterious life-threating illness.

Review:

Reading the above premise, you’d be forgiven for thinking that The Big Sick is a drama, rather than a romantic comedy.  And in fairness, this is a comedy about romance, not a “rom-com” in the more narrow sense of the term.  But The Big Sick is a perfect example of how there’s only a fine line between tragedy and comedy, and sometimes you can find the humour in even the most difficult of times.

It’s easy to see why The Big Sick got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, as it’s the dialogue and characters that really bring to life what, in less talented hands, could have felt derivative, like an updated While You Were Sleeping.  It sounds like faint praise to say that Kumail Nanjiani is excellent at playing a fictionalised version of himself, but it’s not.  I think he’s arguably the best thing in the excellent TV show Silicon Valley, but in that show he gives a straight-up comedic performance.  In The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani’s not only funny (often even at inappropriate times, as a defence mechanism), but he’s also a fully-rounded and believable character, warts and all.  At times he’s vulnerable and sympathetic, and at other times you might want to give him a slap and ask what the hell he’s thinking – but his performance (and the script) don’t attempt to sand the rough edges off his character.

“…the film’s secret weapons are Holly Hunter and Ray Romano…”

Credit also has to go to Zoe Kazan for playing the fictionalised version of Emily (renamed Gardener from Gordon).  The central premise of the film means that she doesn’t have a huge amount of screen time, and yet she absolutely makes an impression in what screen time she has.  The film wouldn’t work if you didn’t feel invested in Kumail’s and Emily’s burgeoning romance before her mysterious illness hits, but Zoe Kazan totally sells it.

The film’s other secret weapons are Oscar winner Holly Hunter and Emmy winner Ray Romano as Emily’s parents.  Taking centre stage once Emily’s admitted to hospital, they bring all the gravitas and nuance you would expect from such experienced actors.  Like Kumail Nanjiani, I mainly know Ray Romano for his comedy work, but here he adds a really interesting dynamic to the chalk-and-cheese relationship with Holly Hunter’s character.  Watching them both interact with Kumail, together and independently, is one of the highlights of the film.

“…uplifting, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt…”

The film tackles real issues - including the cultural pressures connected with interracial relationships and the strains that a serious illness can put on a family - but never in a downbeat or overly melodramatic way.  That’s not to say the film is flippant, as there are plenty of scenes that pack an emotional punch - but equally, neither the film nor Kumail’s character ever lose their sense of humour, even in the darkest of moments.

Because this semi-autobiographical film is loosely based on Kumail Nanjiani’s and Emily V. Gordon’s real-life relationship, you kind of know how the story is going to end – but that doesn’t make the journey any less enjoyable.  Uplifting, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt (perhaps precisely because it is a true love story), The Big Sick is a really heart-warming watch, and certainly one of the best romantic comedies that I’ve seen in years.