Stand-up comedian and actor Kumail Nanjianisteps out from his Silicon Valley ensembleduties for The Big Sick, a taleloosely based on his nontraditional courtship with his real-life wife Emily Gordon (played here by Zoe Kazan), withwhom he also co-wrote the script. Nanjiani plays himself, a middling Chicagostand-up who is heckled one night by a young woman and is in a relationship with hershortly thereafter. Sick follows thelikes of comedian Mike Birbiglia's 2012 autobiographical Sleepwalk With Me, though Nanjiani himself has admitted to takingartistic license from the actual events that led to his marriage.
As a young Pakistani man,Nanjiani is supposed to accept an arranged marriage situation. But when Emilyis placed in a medically induced coma to combat a lung infection, he slowlyrealizes he's in love with her despite his parents' wishes. Along for the rideare Emily's parents, played fantastically by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter, bothof whom outshine Nanjiani at every turn; it isn't that he's not talented, nordoes the script fall short per se, it's really more like he's just not thereyet as a dramatic actor, and it's never more apparent than when he shares screentime with the veteran actors. Romano provides the best performance of hiscareer as a lovably goofy father grappling with the aftermath of his owninfidelity and the frantic emotions of having a sick child. Hunter is, as always,incredible (find us a film where she isn't—we dare you) and often it seems likescenes without them are simply eating up time before they return.
Support from SNL's Aidy Bryant and consummate weirdostand-up musician Bo Burnham is much appreciated as well, though both hardly feel aswell-used as they might have been. It is, after all, Nanjiani's life story, orsome of it anyway, but Bryant and Burnham are both so funny in their own rightthat it seems a misstep.
The rest starts to dragtoward the end and there are only so many "my culture is different" jokes thatcan land with enough oomph. Regardless, TheBig Sick is a perfectly fine first step for the relative newcomer Nanjianiand boasts enough laugh-out-loud moments to justify itself. Direction from Wet Hot American Summer alum MichaelShowalter follows a relatively familiar indie-esque bent, but make nomistake—this is a Judd Apatow film (he produced it). It comes complete with the Apatow "will they/won'tthey/they did!" formulaic cuteness we've come to expect from the Knocked Up director/producer. And that's fine. Just fine.
-A bit too long for what it is, Nanjianiisn't quite there dramatically yet
The Big Sick
Directed by Showalter
With Nanjiani, Kazan, Romano and Hunter
Violet Crown, Regal, R, 120 min.
