A romantic comedy, as a genre has fallen to a relatively low level in recent years in Hollywood . It is not unlikely that the films of this genre are classified in the range from bad to average in the best case. This is exactly the reason why The Big Sick was greeted with praise by both critics and the public. Famous stand-up comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani along with his girlfriend Emily V. Gordon writes a script for a film that mostly relies on their lives and beginnings. The perfectly balanced doses of comedy, romance, family and life tragedy are the reason why The Big Sick has gone beyond the frames of indie films and has become one of the most recent achievements this year.
The film narrative follows the lives of Kumail and Emily. He is a casual Uber driver and a stand-up comedian on the way to becoming an established stand-up comedian and somewhere on the way Kumail meets Emily. The relationship ends with tension between the fKumil's family and the tradition of the world in which he wants to live and work. The sudden illness that occurs with Emily makes Kumail decide what he really wants.
The Big Sick itself does not bring anything revolutionary to the genre. However, the narrative that Kumail and Emily make is going through a different recipe. Most romantic comedies exploit humor material in the first third of the film, and a dramatic plot and unraveling of the comedy in the rest of the film. The Big Sick, however, although initially latently pervading it, intertwines the dramatic aspect with a series of humor - irony, satire, black humor. In this way, during the whole film, we have the shifting of one and the other determinants of this genre.
The central figure here is still Kumail. In portraying himself he shows the early years of his stay in America. In an effort to achieve his desired career, he is located between two fires - a life that wants he wants and the tradition.
As a member of one culture in the world of another, everything becomes somewhat more difficult and more complicated. But Kumail displays his membership to modern American society through his geeky humor and references. And no matter how cheap it is, this humor is his best representation. Through humor, Kumail does not only represent himself, but also crosses over the theme of racism, love, betrayal, compassion and redemption. The humor is based on the relations of characters. On each level, The Big Sick functions shimmeringly and harmoniously.
When there is no chemistry between actors, there is no convincing romantic comedy. Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, however, play roles at a completely different level. Their scenes respond with relaxation and professionalism. The choice of Zoe, who has several similar roles behind her, is a full hit. But Kumail, on the other hand, that we are accustomed to watch in the popular Silicon Valley series shows that the comedy world has gotten a very high quality member.
In addition to leading roles, the roles of Emily's parents should also be singled out. Veterans Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are paying attention to their very appearance, and especially with their performances. At the same time, both tragic and comical, their characters portray exactly the one example of connection that Kumail wishes he have, but also the film as a whole. And if there was a small risk that Ray Romano would outshine younger actors, this is by no means the case. Scenes in which Ray and Kumail are together are pure pleasure to watch. Apart from them, it is important to mention members of the Kumail family played by Anupham Ker, Adeel Akhar and Zenobia Shroff (who steals every scene in which he appears).
The Big Sick is now getting the status of a movie that will revive the sleeping genre of romantic comedies. Whether this will happen or not, the time will show, but the fact is that this movie will spark a sense of empathy, connectivity with the viewer, sadness and happiness. And that's what distinguishes quality movies. Without pretentiousness and cleverness, The Big Sick is shows us that the film story is still possible in reality.
This is my translation from Croatian to English from Ziher he article 'Stvarnost kroji dobru filmsku priču: The Big Sick' by A.Bajrovic