Rolling Stone Australia September 2017

The Big Sick

Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe

Kazan, Holly Hunter

Directed by Michael Showalter

★★★★

astrugglingchicago

stand-up comic and Uber driv-

er named Kumail, played by

theterrificallytalentedKumail

Nanjiani (Dinesh onSilicon

Valley), is poleaxed by the news

that his girlfriend Emily (Zoe

Kazan) has fallen unexpectedly

andinexplicablyill.Whiledoc-

tors look for answers, she lies

inamedicallyinducedcoma.

Hard to believe? Nope. Nan-

jianiandhiswife/co-screen-

writerEmilyV.Gordoncarved

this romantic comedy out of her

personal hospital experience

andtheirownculture-clashre-

lationship. Their hilarious and

heartfeltscripthasarareau-

thenticity that pulls you in and

keeps you glued to the screen.

Boymeetsgirlwhensheflir-

tatiously heckles him during

his club act. Their mutual at-

tractiongrowsintosomething

deeper, but Kumail keeps stall-

ingaboutintroducingthiswhite

girl, who’s majoring in psychol-

ogy, to his strict Muslim fam-

ily.Anytimethecomiccomes

home for dinner, his father (An-

upam Kher) and mother (Zeno-

biaShroff)trotoutanothersuit-

able Pakistani woman in the

hope that their son will partic-

ipateinhisownarrangedmar-

riage.It’sacredittothefilm

that the old-world ties to his

family and their culture still

tug at this assimilated young

man; no wonder Emily resents

being kept at arm’s length from

thepeoplethatmattermostto

themansheloves.ButKumail

keeps his feelings in check, ex-

cept in deadpan comedy rou-

tines in which he lists the pre-

ferredorderofcareerchoicesfor

ayoungPakistaniman:“doc-

tor, engineer, lawyer, ISIS, co-

median.”

Thecouplehitastalemate

and she breaks up with him

in a scene that resonates with

raw humour and injured feel-

ings.ThenEmilyishospital-

ised, and Kumail comes face

to face with her fiercely de-

voted parents, Terry (Ray Ro-

mano) and Beth (the sublime

Holly Hunter), a North Caro-

lina couple having their own

marital issues. Each of them

resentshimforhurtingtheir

daughter;eachofthemgradu-

ally begins to see this stranger

as vulnerably human. Nothing

simplehere.Painhasawayof

resisting comfy clichés.

Romano and Hunter inhab-

it their roles beautifully, their

blunt honesty helping this cul-

turally conflicted commit-

ment-aphobe to open his heart.

AndNanjianiisarevelation,in-

vesting his role with grit, grace

andtouchinggravity.Anyone

who’s watchedSilicon Valley

orseenhiminsupportingroles

knewthecomedianwasfunny,

but the depth of emotion he un-

veilshereshowshiscareerasan

actor has only just begun.

KudostodirectorMichael

Showalter (Wet Hot American

Summer) for keepingThe Big

Sick’s shifting tones in perfect

balance. And a tip of the hat as

well to co-producer Judd Ap-

atow for giving the film just

therightcomediccontextas

Kumail interacts – sometimes

generously, sometimes selfish-

ly–withstand-uppalsplayed

by Bo Burnham, Kurt Brau-

nohler andSNL’s Aidy Bryant.

Still, it’s Nanjiani and Gordon

who raise the bar on romcoms

by seeing relationships (and the

families wrapped up in them)

as the bruising business they

are.The Big Sickis the frank-

est and funniest date movie

around, but be warned: You’ll

laughtillithurts.

By Peter Travers

Movies

88 | Rolling Stone ★★★★★ Classic | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Poor September, 2017

The Funniest Date Movie of 2017