Kumail Nanjiani is arguably best known for his role as Dinesh Chugtai on HBO’s Silicon Valley, but I suspect regular readers of The Verge — folks fascinated with technology and the culture that unspools around it — probably know his work on Adventure Time, Bob’s Burgers, The X-Files, and The Indoor Kids.
That last one isn’t a movie or television show, but a (now defunct)
podcast Nanjiani hosted with his wife, the writer and producer Emily
Gordon.
The Big Sick is the pair's first foray into
co-writing a screenplay, and in an unintentional way, a prequel to their
podcast. It’s a romantic comedy about how Nanjiani and Gordon met,
started dating, and overcame a life threatening illness. Ya know, the
usual rom-com stuff.
(Full disclosure: Years ago, my wife worked with Nanjiani and The Big Sick director Michael Showalter on the Comedy Central show Michael and Michael Have Issues.)
What’s the genre?
Romantic-dram-com.
What’s it about?
For people who became familiar with the life story of
Nanjiani and Gordon through their podcast, this will sound familiar.
Kumail, played by himself, is an aspiring stand-up comedian, polishing a
set in a Chicago nightclub. Emily, played by Zoe Kazan, is a grad
school student who attends one of his shows. They hook up, hang out,
date — and split. Nanjiani's fear of disownment from his traditional
Pakistani family is an insurmountable roadblock.
Then, without warning, Emily becomes ill from a
mysterious infection, and is put into a medically induced coma that
affords the doctors time to search for a cause and a cure.
Okay, what’s it really about?
Parents. There’s a beautiful, somewhat traditional love story tucked into The Big Sick, but it’s bookended by a warm, but frank confrontation with how we seek the love and approval of our parents and our in-laws.
Nanjiani’s performance effortlessly carries the film’s
staggering emotional weight. The character is a struggling comic on the
cusp of breaking out, an immigrant questioning the faith and customs of
family, a romantic torn between his expectations and his heart, and one
half of the film’s two love stories.
Yes, two. We first watch Kumail and Emily in an
extended meet cute, but once the young woman enters the coma, we get a
second and different sort of love story between Kumail and Emily’s
parents, the calls-‘em-like-she-sees-‘em Beth and the anxious Terry.
Played with folksiness by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, the doting
parents are lived-in, where they easily could have become cloying. And
so, The Big Sick presents a story that I believe plays out
often in the real world, but rarely in art: a potential spouse discovers
a deeper and richer affection for their partner by getting to know the
people that raised her. Beth, Terry, and their marriage are imperfect,
but the two care deeply about their daughter. Watching Kumail gradually
spot that tenderness and ultimately share it is beautiful.
But is it any good?
Absolutely. Nanjiani and Gordon have discussed romantic
comedies on their podcast and elsewhere, and their expertise shows in
the ways they improve upon the genre. I mentioned Emily’s mother
already, but I also should highlight the other women in the film, who
are afforded time and dialogue to express their own personalities and
wants. I’m talking about Emily, but also the many Pakistani women that
Kumail’s parents hope he will accept for an arranged marriage. The film
takes a late, brief, and unexpected detour to give one of these women a
chance to share her side and her exhaustion with the process.
And when Kumail relies on the male niceties and
eccentricities of rom-coms, women shut him down as his intellectual and
comic equal — if not superior. On their second date, Kumail performs his
ritual of showing his new girlfriend a classic horror B-movie, and
Emily sarcastically quips how she loves when new boyfriends judge her
taste.
What should it be rated?
The film doesn’t have an official rating, but I’d say it
should be PG-13, because an R rating will prevent teenagers from seeing a
genuine and complex depiction of love. Of course it will be rated R
because the word “fuck” is said more than once.
How can I actually watch it?
The film doesn’t have a release date, and I wouldn’t be
surprised if this gets held for Oscar season. It’s not traditional
Awards fare, but both Hunter and Romano give performances good enough to
warrant supporting actor and actress buzz. I expect whoever acquires
the film this week will offer a nice paycheck, and maybe some marketing
promises to get the film in front a big audience — one it deserves.
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