REVIEW: THE BIG SICK
Between my English major and my Film Studies minor, there is a lot to be said about formula, specifically film formula. The formula of the romantic comedy is what is used as an example of something simplistic, a boy meets girl, meet-cute, conflict, big conflict, resolution, happy ending. Also in college, I've found that this genre has the most return value for people my age. There's something safe in a romantic comedy, like a chocolate bar, without nutrition, but you eat it and you feel good. I'm not a fan of this type of movie, which is not to say I dislike the rom-com, but I dislike what a lot of rom-coms represent, and if you scroll through the rest of this blog you might not find one reviewed for a while. Michael Showalter's The Big Sick is technically a romantic comedy, but it dives well out of its generic boundaries to deliver one of the year's most timely stories.
On the poster alone, with star Kumail Nanjiani posing with co-star (but she's not really in it that much) Zoe Kazan. Immediately your mind may jump to the worst possible scenario; Nanjiani having to marry Kazan for a green card to stay in the country. But the tale is autobiographical, more a look into a modern couple's interracial relationship. The conflict doesn't come from the two, who have an instant chemistry, in service of the story and as their characters, but rather from Kumail's (also his name in the movie) traditional, Pakistani parents. The movie, and I don't say this simply for the fact that both of the leads are Indian, can be wonderfully compared to Aziz Ansari's masterful show "Master of None." Both Kumail and Ansari's Dev are sweet , trying to live their best, if hedonistic, American lives in a big city. Ansari has had twenty episodes to give us fresh takes on traditional Indian parents, dating and making it in an industry where you don't see a lot of people of his color in the front and center, but even with two hours the movie is a success. Kumail and Emily (Kazan) hit it off, until she realizes he hasn't told his parents they're dating, in fear of being ostracized for not dating a Pakistani girl. And then...cue the title.
I'll keep that vague for your viewing sake because it doesn't make sense until about halfway in. That's when we meet Emily's parents, Beth and Terry, who very well threaten to steal the film if Nanjiani wasn't such a charismatic lead. Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are just about perfect in their roles. Resisting the stereotypes these characters might have been (determined mother, clueless dad), they're just humorous, if exaggerated versions of what any parent would be in this situation. "Why go on the internet," Romano's Terry wonders aloud, "there are people out there who hate Forrest Gump. That's like, the best movie ever." After watching Romano play a bumbling dad on reruns all my life, this father is a truly original creation. Hunter is brilliant in her role as the rip-roaring mother, making a memorable ruckus defending Kumail at one of his shows.
Here's where I have to give Showalter credit, and this isn't the first time I've said this and not the last; it is the most impressive thing to me when drama and comedy can be mixed so effortlessly. It's one thing Judd Apatow, wearing his producer's hat here, strives for in his work. But walking out of the theater, I realized how little Big Sick relied on sex humor and flatulence jokes. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Apatow's name under the director's billing, but the fact that Showalter, who also wrote the hysterical, absurdist Wet Hot American Summer, shows a leap of maturity in both filmmaking abilities and subject matter. I hope the Academy takes note of his film, despite this being a summer release, and I wish they would make an Oscar category for casting. Besides the main four here, Kumail's entire family cracked me up, Aidy Bryant and Bo Burnham are basically mirrors of their characters, but their banter as Kumail's friends really kept the humor front and center. Because like stand-up, this film asks, "Why wallow in your misery?" The Big Sick is a joyful movie disguised as a wisecracking rom-dramedy, but expect to see it on my best-of list at the end of 2017.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
On the poster alone, with star Kumail Nanjiani posing with co-star (but she's not really in it that much) Zoe Kazan. Immediately your mind may jump to the worst possible scenario; Nanjiani having to marry Kazan for a green card to stay in the country. But the tale is autobiographical, more a look into a modern couple's interracial relationship. The conflict doesn't come from the two, who have an instant chemistry, in service of the story and as their characters, but rather from Kumail's (also his name in the movie) traditional, Pakistani parents. The movie, and I don't say this simply for the fact that both of the leads are Indian, can be wonderfully compared to Aziz Ansari's masterful show "Master of None." Both Kumail and Ansari's Dev are sweet , trying to live their best, if hedonistic, American lives in a big city. Ansari has had twenty episodes to give us fresh takes on traditional Indian parents, dating and making it in an industry where you don't see a lot of people of his color in the front and center, but even with two hours the movie is a success. Kumail and Emily (Kazan) hit it off, until she realizes he hasn't told his parents they're dating, in fear of being ostracized for not dating a Pakistani girl. And then...cue the title.
I'll keep that vague for your viewing sake because it doesn't make sense until about halfway in. That's when we meet Emily's parents, Beth and Terry, who very well threaten to steal the film if Nanjiani wasn't such a charismatic lead. Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are just about perfect in their roles. Resisting the stereotypes these characters might have been (determined mother, clueless dad), they're just humorous, if exaggerated versions of what any parent would be in this situation. "Why go on the internet," Romano's Terry wonders aloud, "there are people out there who hate Forrest Gump. That's like, the best movie ever." After watching Romano play a bumbling dad on reruns all my life, this father is a truly original creation. Hunter is brilliant in her role as the rip-roaring mother, making a memorable ruckus defending Kumail at one of his shows.Here's where I have to give Showalter credit, and this isn't the first time I've said this and not the last; it is the most impressive thing to me when drama and comedy can be mixed so effortlessly. It's one thing Judd Apatow, wearing his producer's hat here, strives for in his work. But walking out of the theater, I realized how little Big Sick relied on sex humor and flatulence jokes. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Apatow's name under the director's billing, but the fact that Showalter, who also wrote the hysterical, absurdist Wet Hot American Summer, shows a leap of maturity in both filmmaking abilities and subject matter. I hope the Academy takes note of his film, despite this being a summer release, and I wish they would make an Oscar category for casting. Besides the main four here, Kumail's entire family cracked me up, Aidy Bryant and Bo Burnham are basically mirrors of their characters, but their banter as Kumail's friends really kept the humor front and center. Because like stand-up, this film asks, "Why wallow in your misery?" The Big Sick is a joyful movie disguised as a wisecracking rom-dramedy, but expect to see it on my best-of list at the end of 2017.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
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