The Big Sick (2017)

[Glory]

Quote

Kumail is a Pakistani comic who meets an American graduate student named Emily at one of his stand-up shows. As their relationship blossoms, he soon becomes worried about what his traditional Muslim parents will think of her. When Emily suddenly comes down with an illness that leaves her in a coma, Kumail finds himself developing a bond with her deeply concerned mother and father.

Did anyone see this? 

I freaking loved this movie so hard. There was nothing I did not like about it.

From the awkward cringe humor of Kumail's terrible jokes to Emily's parents, to the romance between Kumail and Emily, to the funny backstage at the comedy club bits... it just hit all the right notes for me.

I thought Ray Romano was great and Holly Hunter is always fantastic, but I loved the actors who played Kumail's family. They had such wonderful energy. 

Edited July 10, 2017 by Glory

[Crisopera]

Totally loved it.  Wonderful performances all around.  I had not seen Zoey Kazan before and thought she was incredibly charming - quite an achievement to make such an impression when she spends half the movie in a coma!  As other people have mentioned in other topics, Ray Romano has consistently surprised me with his acting prowess since Everybody Loves Raymond went off the air.  I will certainly rewatch it when it arrives on Amazon.

[absnow54]

I really loved the relationship Kumail formed with Emily's parents. He was so worried about losing his own family, that he didn't even think about the family he would be gaining, and it was nice to see that bond form. It was also nice to see him fight for his own family, and their reluctance to cut him off, which obviously didn't take given the wedding photos we later see. It was just a really great family comedy.

[scrb]

Seems to be getting good buzz.  Of course him being on Silicon Valley should help.

[luna1122]

i loved it. i'm a zoe kazan fan even tho she tends a little toward Manic Pixie Dreamgirl-dom, and she's very charming here. Romano and Hunter stole the movie...i was surprisingly moved by Romano, who I never really watched in much of anything. And Hunter is crazy good. Loved the awkwardness of Kumail's first meeting with them turning into a sweet bond. Really nice little film.

[Cranberry]

7 hours ago, Crisopera said:

I had not seen Zoey Kazan before and thought she was incredibly charming

I've seen her in a few things now and I've liked her in all of them -- the best was probably a romcom she did with Daniel Radcliffe called What If (or The F Word, depending on country). I also liked her in Ruby Sparks where she sent up the whole Manic Pixie Dream Girl thing, although I didn't like the ending.

I haven't seen this yet as it hasn't come to my area, but I intend to! I've heard good things from my friends who have seen it.

[biakbiak]

I enjoyed it thoroughly even though I "knew" the parts of the story that were true from various podcasts over the year.

The real Emily makes a quick appearance in Kumails`s NYC stand up set she is sitting to the left of Bo Burnham.

[ExplainItAgain]

I so rarely see movies, but I went to see this one tonight with friends. I loved it! It was so sweet and funny.

[Bastet]

On 7/10/2017 at 8:30 AM, absnow54 said:

It was just a really great family comedy.

This struck me, because other than a fair number of screwballs and only that same general number in the many decades since, romantic comedies are not my bag.  There is something about the trailers for this one that appeals to me, though, and I've been thinking of going to see it (and, if not, will definitely rent it when the time comes).  Hearing it described that way is a definite point in favor.

[SeanC]

I liked it a lot.

At times in the more dramatic scene I felt like Kumail Nanjiani's limitations as an actor vis a vis his co-stars were showing a bit, but he was funny and sincere (which, granted, the movie is based on his life) so that wasn't a huge issue for me.

[BoogieBurns]

I just loved it. I like seeing how Kumail and Ray's character were similar in certain ways. It showed how the relationship made sense to Emily and her family, even when it made no sense to Kumail's. Also, how hot was Heather (Vella Lovell) from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, playing Khadija? She would have definitely been his arranged marriage choice if he wanted a set up. The actress is mixed, black and white, and her accent was impeccable as a Pakistani. 

I want to see it again already. 

[Shannon L.]

My son and I saw this today and really enjoyed it a lot.  I definitely want to see some nominations for it at Oscar time.

I don't know anything about their true story, so I don't know what is real in the movie and what is fake or exaggerated, but I was pleasantly surprised to see pictures of the Pakistani wedding and found myself wishing they had made the hospital or comedy club parts a few minutes shorter so we could have at least seen the "on the mend" part of his relationship with his parents and their acceptance of her.  Even if it was the closing scene where someone smiles or says a kind word after an awkward introduction. 

Speaking of which, I'm looking at an empty nest soon and one of the kids is talking about a step that I'm concerned that he's not ready for, so in the end, when Kamail's father was reaching out to him before he left, but holding back, then asked him to text him when he got there, it struck such a chord with me!  His acting was perfect in that scene, imo. 

[Browncoat]

I finally saw this last night, and really expected more of a "Meet The Patels" kind of movie.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not!  I did like "Meet The Patels", but I'm not sure I needed another one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one -- Holly Hunter was excellent as always, and while I tend not to like Ray Romano (everyone does NOT love Raymond!), he was inoffensive here.  Mostly I was glad they explained his NY accent since he said in the comedy club that he was from North Carolina.  

[thuganomics85]

Finally got a chance to see this too, after it left before I had I a chance during it's initial release, but they actually brought it back to my era.

As someone who is really picky with their romantic comedies (I think the ones I like/love can all be counted on one hand), I thought it was excellent.  The writing was top-notch (really hope Kumail and Emily at least get a Best Screenplay nomination come Oscar time), the characters were fun and multi-layered, and the actors were fantastic.  Kumail/Emily is one of my favorite pairings in quite some time.  I thought they did a good job capturing the awkwardness with their first few meeting, and how they naturally grow and warm up to one another the more the film went on, and I could by why Kumail felt for her enough that he would be as invested as he was when she was put under, even though it was only a few months (and they broke-up.)

Loved all the stuff with Kumail's family.  My dad is Indian and while that isn't the same as Pakistani, his side of the family's  interactions and arguments felt very similar to the way Kumail's family was here.  I also thought they found the right balance of showing that they did love Kumail, but they were just stuck in their traditional ways that they failed to see that Kumail didn't believe the same way they do, and overreacted once they found out.  Also liked that they showed that some arranged marriages can be successful and loving (his parents, and I came away with the sense that his brother, Naveed, and his wife loved each other was well), but not everyone feels that way, and people like Kumail shouldn't have to be forced into one.  Both of the actors playing the parents were great (Anupam Kher is one of those actors I've seen in a ton of stuff and always delivers.)

While Kumail himself might have been a bit rough with some of the more dramatic ones, I thought he was still pretty effective as the lead and had a lot of great moments.  It's still amazing how many stand-up comedians are actually pretty good dramatic actors (Eddie Murphy, Louis C.K., Patton Oswalt, etc.)  Never heard of Zoe Kazan, but she blew me away and I really hope she starts appearing in more stuff going forward.  Holly Hunter was excellent and Ray Romano was understated, but gave a really natural performance.

I honestly was jumping back and forth between laughing and cringing during Terry's "conversation" with Kumail about 9-11.  So wrong, but I have a feeling that something like that would totally happen.

Crazy to think that a lot of this really happened.  Kind of glanced at some of the real life stuff, and from what I can tell, the biggest liberties where that Kumail and Emily never broke up in real life (I guess that was for dramatic reasons), the real Beth and Terry are different in real life, and Kumail's family wasn't as upset about their relationship compared to the film.  I'm guessing the reason Kumail exaggerated that aspect was because even though his family was more understanding, he likely knows at least one person who probably went through something like that, and he wanted to shine a light on it.  I hope his real parents knew going in about the changes!

Great film.  Might be my favorite of the  year so far, which I never predicted.

[Duke2801]

I just saw this and absolutely loved it! I smiled, I laughed, I teared up - a whole gamut of emotions. 

I was already a fan of Kumail from Silicon Valley and Burning Love - but I ended up liking Ray Romano and Zoe K. much more than I anticipated (they both sort of annoyed me in some past roles).  This movie was sweet, charming and definitely funny.   Kamail and "Emily" had some great banter, but I think I laughed most at the dialogue between Kamail and the other comedians (the whole bit where they tell him how terrible his "girlfriend in a coma" set was? Gold, Jerry, gold!), as well as between him and Ray Romano.  

Edited October 16, 2017 by Duke2801

[Spartan Girl]

I did love this movie too, for all the reasons that were stated.  But I'm glad to hear that Kumail's parents weren't as harsh in real life as they were in the movie.

Actually, I'm disappointed that Kumail's real parents to make an appearance during his SNL monologue and rib him for how they were portrayed in the movie.  That would have been epic. 

Edited October 16, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[GHScorpiosRule]

47 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

But I'm glad to hear that Kumail's parents weren't as harsh in real life as they were in the movie.

I haven't seen this (yet), but speaking as an East Indian (though not Muslim), I can say, based on experience and what I've seen most Indian parents do, when their son or daughter marries someone who is American or European (White or Black), they threaten to disown, to cut them off, only to come around in the end. So many of my friends who didn't marry Indians, this is how it ended up being. Not including those parents who didn't have an issue--as long as their children were happy.

[hendersonrocks]

This movie was SO GOOD. I finally watched it on a plane this weekend after resisting for a few months, worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. I realllllllly enjoyed it, and echo the hope that it nabs a Best Original Screenplay nod come Oscar time.

My Christian American sibling has been in a relationship with a Muslim American whose parents immigrated here from their home country - it's been tough on their family, the more serious it's gotten. It feels like ultimately their parents would come around if marriage (and especially grandchildren) come around, but the depths of emotion that situations like this stir in families is no effing joke.

[memememe76]

This was so very good. I also really enjoyed the depth the writers gave to the many Pakistani women who had to come into the house and present themselves before Kumail and his family. The one with the X Files line was so funny, even through I am a fan pf that show. Still hilarious.

A couple scenes struck me as false. I think the brother and sister in law would not really cut Kumail from the family. I am sad they did not raise their hands not to cut him off. I also think someone other than Holly Hunter would have told the racist asshole off. Where was security? Chicago is a liberal city. But I could be wrong about it, it is probably based on personal experience.

But really enjoyed it. Just lovely.

[Irlandesa]

14 minutes ago, memememe76 said:

I also think someone other than Holly Hunter would have told the racist asshole off. Where was security? Chicago is a liberal city. But I could be wrong about it, it is probably based on personal experience.

I don't think it's about whether or not they agreed with the jerk in the audience.  I do think there's a tendency to try to ignore ugly drunks being ugly drunks in the hope of them eventually shutting up.  I think that's why no one confronted him.  And when Holly Hunter went in, shes went in.  By then, people were inclined to get out of the way.

[festivus]

12 hours ago, memememe76 said:

The one with the X Files line was so funny, even through I am a fan pf that show. Still hilarious.

That was my favorite part of the movie. I'm still laughing about it.

[SlovakPrincess]

Ok, I loved this movie.   

I was dying laughing at Kumail's freak out at the drive through ... even while feeling so heartbroken for the poor guy because he was obviously so upset and stressed out.  

I knew I'd enjoy Hunter and Romano in their roles, but I loved the entire cast, especially the actors playing Kumail's parents.  I loved the last scene with his parents, where they were like "goodbye forever, we've disowned you, but here is this meal your mother made for you because it's your favorite, and also text us when you get there."  

I liked that Emily didn't just take him back immediately, and that she explained that she didn't want to be responsible for him losing his family and that, while he'd been having this whole change of heart and emotional experience ... she was unconscious the whole time.  Usually I get annoyed when romantic comedies throw in one last obstacle / misunderstanding to keep the couple apart a bit longer ... but this actually made a lot of sense.