US comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani and writer Emily V. Gordon mine the history of their real-life courtship in this co-written, comedy. Starring Kumail as himself and Zoe Kazan as Emily in the early days of their careers, it shows Nanjiani’s traditional Muslim parents (Anupam Kher and Zenobia Shroff) as initially unhappy with their burgeoning relationship. But when Emily falls prey to a mysterious illness, he must take charge of the crisis with her bickering parents Beth and Terry (played beautifully for laughs by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) and join their families together to support her on the road to recovery. A joyful, emotive and ruefully hilarious story, The Big Sick is eloquent on racial anxieties but also on how such cultural concerns are no match for the universal ties and fears of love, health and family, while mining those difficulties for some truly memorable comedy.
The Big Sick
Directed by Michael Showalter