The Big Sick

The Big Sick

The Big Sick is a comedy from Amazon, starring Kumail Nanjiani. The films is based on the real-life relationship between Kumail and his wife Emily and was written by both of them. The story follows Kumail, who is a stand-up comedian in Chicago, as he gets closer to a woman named Emily he meets at one of his shows. They grow close quickly and unexpectedly, but two big things stand between both of them. One is Kumail's family, who are very traditional and want Kumail to follow their traditions and have an arranged marriage. The other thing that stands between them is Emily's sudden illness that brings Kumail to spend time with her parents. I don't want to reveal too much about the story, because I found it better to go into the movie with little knowledge and enjoy everything as it was revealed.

This is one of the best comedy films I've seen in a long time, I found myself in love with almost every second of this film. Not only is it ACTUALLY funny and gets laughs, but it's actually very heartwarming and sweet at times in a way that isn't too over the top or overly cheesy. The characters are all likable in the film especially the main cast. The chemistry between Kumail and Emily (played by Zoe Kazan) works really well, and in a short time you really get why they like each other and you do want them to be together. The other two characters you spend a lot of time with is Emily's parents who are played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano (who everybody loves) and they work really well together and work great with Kumail to create some really funny scenes, probably the funniest parts of the movie are when all three are together.

The main conflict of the movie comes from Kumail's family, who are from Pakistan and are very strict about their Muslim religion and traditions for their family. Kumail wants no part of that though, as he doesn't follow those traditions anymore and wants to do things his own way. They film does a great job at showing the love Kumail has for his family and the guilt he feels that he doesn't follow their traditions. It also does a great job at not making his parents look like villains in the story just because of their beliefs. The movie handles the tough scenes between them well adding a lot of great humor and heart to the story. There are some cliche moments in the story, the kind that you see in other romantic comedies, but it didn't take me away from the movie and there aren't many anyway.

Overall this is a really fantastic film that came out of nowhere for me. It has great writing, a great cast, great chemistry, lots of heart and lots of laughs. It's a film worth checking out if you want to laugh and enjoy a more simple story with memorable characters. Kumail brings one of the funniest performances of the year, probably the best i've seen so far. It's something different, and if you're looking for something different than give this one a shot, it deserves it.

Overal Grade: A.