Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.
Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.
Director:
Sean Baker
Stars:
Brooklynn Prince,
Bria Vinaite,
Willem Dafoe
A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.
Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani), in the middle of becoming a budding stand-up comedian, meets Emily (Zoe Kazan). Meanwhile, a sudden illness sets in forcing Emily to be put into a medically-induced coma. Kumail must navigate being a comedian, dealing with tragic illness, and placating his family's desire to let them fix him up with a spouse, while contemplating and figuring out who he really is and what he truly believesWritten by
Brett Lee Swerbilow (brettswerbilow@gmail.com)
In November 2016, Kumail Nanjiani was a guest on the NPR podcast "Pop Culture Happy Hour." When one of the podcast's hosts, Linda Holmes, invited him to plug his upcoming movie (which at the time was still filming), he said, "My wife and I wrote a movie and I'm in it, and it's going to come out next year. Right now it's called 'The Big Sick,' but the name's going to change. So just look for the rom-com about a brown man and a white woman, starring me." See more »
Goofs
Although the film is set in Chicago and Emily is said to be at "City Hospital," a sign for Katz Women's Hospital at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York is clearly visible when Kumail arrives. See more »
Quotes
Terry:
Love isn't easy. That's why they call it love.
Kumail:
I don't really get that either.
Terry:
I know. I thought I could just start saying something, and something smart would come out.
See more »
Crazy Credits
In the beginning of the end credits, photos of shown of the real-life inspiration behind the Emily character, as well as the wedding between Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani and Nanjiani's real-life parents. See more »
One of my favorite things to do is go into a movie completely blind. Not watch a trailer, look at a poster, or even the cast list. It's incredibly difficult to do in today's age, especially because of how much I enjoy watching trailers, but when the chance comes along to see a movie with no prior knowledge, I take it.
The Big Sick is one of those rare movies that presents itself as 3 genres, in this case Drama, Comedy, and Romance, and it services each of those genres equally. So well that you have to mention all 3 if you're talking about the movie. It's not just a Rom-Com or a Rom- Dram, it's most certainly a Rom-Com-Dram. I haven't seen a film so effortlessly balance the 3 genres. This is all while seemingly reinvent the formula for a romantic comedy to beautifully fresh results. The Big Sick uses witty humor, charming leads, and socially important topics to give us the best film of the summer thus far.
A romance is only as good as its leads and their chemistry. Luckily, Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan grace the screen with a refreshingly awkward and charming presence. Being that I haven't really seen either of them in anything else, their relationship felt miraculously original. The Big Sick is based on Nanjiani's actual life, but this felt like a comedy unrestricted by real-life accounts while also honoring a serious subject matter that has its place. However, the two's chemistry isn't all this film has, its entire ensemble is something to behold. Ray Romano, Holly Hunter, Anupam Kher, Adeel Akhtar, Zenobia Shroff, and the various comedians do a wonderful job of rounding out the fantastic cast.
It doesn't fall back into genre clichés or tropes, doesn't fall back into an overly physical comedy (like most comedies do now), and it most certainly doesn't go the direction you think it's going to go. The Big Sick benefits from having a diverse cast and story and an impeccably funny but also poignant script. Heck, it also doesn't hurt that it takes place and was filmed in my hometown of Chicago. But the important thing is, this film restores my faith (once again) in original romantic comedies. Go see it.
+Diverse
+Original
+Funny & heartwarming
+Balances its 3 genres impressively
10/10
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One of my favorite things to do is go into a movie completely blind. Not watch a trailer, look at a poster, or even the cast list. It's incredibly difficult to do in today's age, especially because of how much I enjoy watching trailers, but when the chance comes along to see a movie with no prior knowledge, I take it.
The Big Sick is one of those rare movies that presents itself as 3 genres, in this case Drama, Comedy, and Romance, and it services each of those genres equally. So well that you have to mention all 3 if you're talking about the movie. It's not just a Rom-Com or a Rom- Dram, it's most certainly a Rom-Com-Dram. I haven't seen a film so effortlessly balance the 3 genres. This is all while seemingly reinvent the formula for a romantic comedy to beautifully fresh results. The Big Sick uses witty humor, charming leads, and socially important topics to give us the best film of the summer thus far.
A romance is only as good as its leads and their chemistry. Luckily, Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan grace the screen with a refreshingly awkward and charming presence. Being that I haven't really seen either of them in anything else, their relationship felt miraculously original. The Big Sick is based on Nanjiani's actual life, but this felt like a comedy unrestricted by real-life accounts while also honoring a serious subject matter that has its place. However, the two's chemistry isn't all this film has, its entire ensemble is something to behold. Ray Romano, Holly Hunter, Anupam Kher, Adeel Akhtar, Zenobia Shroff, and the various comedians do a wonderful job of rounding out the fantastic cast.
It doesn't fall back into genre clichés or tropes, doesn't fall back into an overly physical comedy (like most comedies do now), and it most certainly doesn't go the direction you think it's going to go. The Big Sick benefits from having a diverse cast and story and an impeccably funny but also poignant script. Heck, it also doesn't hurt that it takes place and was filmed in my hometown of Chicago. But the important thing is, this film restores my faith (once again) in original romantic comedies. Go see it.
+Diverse
+Original
+Funny & heartwarming
+Balances its 3 genres impressively
10/10