The Big Sick

2017 • 120 minutes

About this movie

Produced by comedy heavyweight Judd Apatow, The Big Sick is the hilarious and heart-rending true story of Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Kumail (Nanjiani), who connects with grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) after one of his standup sets. What they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life that is expected of Kumail by his traditional Muslim parents. When Emily is beset with a mystery illness, it forces Kumail to navigate the medical crisis with her parents, (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) who he's never met, while dealing with the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart.

Ratings and reviews

Normally am very open to any type of film, but this one just didn't work for me. Ending cute but I felt like the whole plot was really unstructured and a bit odd. The 'humour' was not getting any laughs sadly. I think the actors and actresses did the best they could with the script given, but this was not a very well-thought through film.

The fact that it was taken from real life makes this ever so much more enjoyable. Kumail Nanjiani is charming, funny, and real. Zoe Kazan does a wonderful job, perfectly complementing Nanjiani's performance. Good chemistry and tremendously likeable. Holly Hunter is brilliant and Ray Romano hilariously portrays a dad who is not at all hilarious. Zenobia Shroff manages to convey a thousand emotions with a forced smile or raised eyebrow... Really, the casting, writing, and editing make this fantastically enjoyable. Even the cringe-y parts of behind-the-scenes comedy crafting are balanced well so that you needn't fear squirming in your seat in discomfort. And, really, like all proper romcoms, it makes you fall in love with love. Don't wait another minute of missing out on this film - watch it now!

Writing felt clunky and even cringey in some parts. Humour fell flat for me. Pacing takes a dive halfway in. Things only got interesting in the last act when the MC confesses to his parents. Maybe I'm biased because I've been in that situation. In any case, I thought that bit was quite realistic. Why is it 2 hours long? Cut most of the filler and it could be under one hour 30.