The Big Sick

Romantic comedies are abundant over the long history of film and vary in terms of quality depending on a number of factors: the actors involved, the chemistry between them, the material they are dealing with, and whether your looking for something more comedic, sincere, or a little bit of both. Honestly it's typically hard to find great or even competent rom coms in the modern era compared to those of the past couple decades. That's most likely due to how it has evolved in creating the formula and original classics to the point where how the quality in our current time is difficult to find. Personally, while I can find a few of them in the 2000s and 2010s that are enjoyable and good (such as Midnight in Paris, Crazy Stupid Love, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding), there are more options in the pre-2000s decades that are more preferable and honest to the genre (When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Roman Holiday). Nowadays, it sometimes feels like that film genre has fallen into boring sex comedy complacencies in the past years that the public has gotten used to and have ended up feeling bored over being spoon fed the same product over and over without anything fresh coming from it. However, in the past couple of months, I have started seeing trailers for a new romantic comedy, The Big Sick, which premiered at Sundance and has gathered a strong positive reviews. It looked fresh, modern, and unique enough to catch my attention while I take a break from blockbusters until July throws me back into them. I went into the theater ecstatic for a good experience from the movie and left it emotionally satisfied by the incredibly delightful time The Big Sick was capable of providing.

Plot: The plot is based on a true story in regards to comedian Kumail Nanjiani courting Emily Gordon (his current wife) and the crisis he undergoes when she gets afflicted with an illness that requires her to be put into a medically induced coma, which results in him working through that issue with her parents. While it's based on the true story, some of the details are exaggerated (which is common for these type of films) and it should be noted that the aforementioned couple wrote this movie, demonstrating the time and care put into crafting the delightful romantic comedy experience I didn't know I wanted. It deals with a few subplots such as Kumail dealing with his family's culture of arranged marriage, his standup career, and him working with Emily's parent in terms of the aforementioned crisis. Due to the circumstances at hand, the story itself is more of a family focused romantic comedy since most of the screen time is given to those storyline interactions. It carries out those elements in a very relatable way it feels like you're watching two episodes of Master of None in how the family is handled, which is fantastic based on its execution. The plot does a great job of balancing light hearted moments with hard hitting dramatic realism in the moments that matter, which shows the effort that the couple put into the writing this movie. (Their efforts did a great job to the point where I actually teared up a little in a few of the family scenes in the third act). Overall the plot of The Big Sick is well-balanced in the comedic and dramatic tones it contains while carrying relatable family storylines with the respect they deserve as well as reflecting the writing effort put into crafting a beautiful experience.

Characters: The characters to focus on in The Big Sick are Kumail Nanjiani (as himself), Emily Gordon (Zoe Kazan), Beth (Holly Hunter), and Terry (Ray Romano). Kumail is a comedian put into his own development arc after Emily is put into a coma following an illness and must come to terms with what he wants for his own life clashing against the values his own family has for him with their culture. He demonstrates his fantastic acting chops as a leading man in his own right in an experience he went through and never took that journey he goes on for granted. Kumail portrays a balance of his confident comedic side along being vulnerable to areas where he could be his own worst enemy as he pushes to find a resolution for himself during the ordeal at hand. Emily is Kumail's love (and current wife) who forms a relationship with him before the circumstances of his family's culture interferes and is placed into a medically induced unconsciousness after contracting a mysterious illness. Zoe has a difficult task of creating a likable, relatable love interest with respect to the real life wife before the disease affects her and she performs this task with wonderful ease. Her chemistry with Kumail is believable in their interactions with each other and the performance she gives manages to leave off a great impression before and after her characters hospitalization. Beth is Emily's stubborn but caring mother who's dealing with the medical issues surrounding her daughter while being consoled by Kumail and dealing with some lingering tensions between her and Terry. Holly gives a compelling and relatable performance as a mother worried about her daughter while trying to figure out what's best for her given new health updates. You can sympathize with her portrayal with the stress any parent would be feeling with their child hospitalized under mysterious diseases and the worries that come to mind when learning more about it. Terry is Emily's father concerned for his daughter while trying to work with issues involved him and his wife along with getting to know Kumail. Ray brings in a great performance in this role and shares a good number of awkward comedies scenes with Kumail in their interactions with each other. His portrayal gives a sympathetic father trying to keep the peace in troubled times and working to mend his marital problems with Beth. Honorable mentions go to the actors who portrayed Kumail's family for their performances that contribute to the drama and comedy of the story. Overall the actors bring excellent portrayals for the comedy and drama in The Big Sick that brings a level of sympathy as well as a relatable point of view the story provides.

Overall Consensus: The Big Sick is a delightful heartfelt romantic comedy blended with great performances, likable characters in the true story, relatable drama, great family focused storylines, and wonderful lighthearted comedy. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿

Reasons to watch it: You like romantic comedies that balance out light hearted comedy with heartfelt drama. You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like movies that are more focused on family oriented storylines. You and/or your significant other are looking for a good modern romantic comedy. You want to take a break from action blockbusters. You like movies that are based on true stories.

Reasons to avoid it: You don't like romantic comedies. You don't like any of the aforementioned actors. You don't like movies that focus on family storylines. You prefer action blockbusters instead of romance movies. You don't like movies based on true stories.

Coming up next: Jam-packed June was quite the enjoyable month with two different but good superhero movies, a unique action heist movie, and a fantastic romantic comedy. With that month having concluded in a romantic fashion, it's time to return to the blockbusters within Jubilant July, a month where the main protagonists in each movie are aiming to accomplish a goal in order bring themselves happiness and triumph over challenging circumstances. Tune in next time, where we will begin with the third iteration of the friendly neighborhood superhero web slinger with a rough Hollywood film history that will be touched upon in my next review, Spider-Man: Homecoming!!!