What's this movie about? To quote Kumail directly -
"It sounds so serious on paper: A Pakistani guy whose parents want him to have an arranged marriage has his white girlfriend go into a coma. But it is a comedy!"
Yep, that sounds about right.
1. It was funny
"Who the fuck is this 'we'?! ... Put four slices of cheese on the fucking burger."
From the slower pacing to the dryness, this was totally my sense of humor. There was even a tasteful (in my opinion) 9/11 joke. Like, how do you even do that? Kumail also uses humor to talk through some really difficult subjects with his family and with Emily. It takes a lot of finesse to navigate through being told to "go back to ISIS" in front of an audience and stand up to your family disowning you - but to do it with humor is even more impressive.
2. It was real
"It's really hard to do standup comedy when your girlfriend's in a coma"
But it was actually real. And hell, I wanted it to be! This is true story of Kumail and his wife Emily's relationship. They co-wrote it together. And you can tell. I didn't feel lied to. I felt like I was sitting there watching them tell it to me and the bantering between them - poking fun at each other. It was a real relationship. And for it to turn out to be a true story (which I didn't know until the end) made it that much better.
3. It was emotional
"Because I am in love with someone... and she's very sick"
I actually cried; I actually cared. The movie addressed family expectations, cultural pressures, physical illness, and relationship troubles. The characters had depth and backstory. I felt attached to every character because they were relatable and honest. It shook up real feelings of being in love, the struggles with family acceptance, pain in romantic relationships, fighting for something/someone you care about, and pursuing something you're passionate about despite being laughed at or others being skeptical of your success. All the feels.
4. It had great actors
"My name’s Kumail."
Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, Anupam Kher, Bo Burnham, Aidy Bryant
I don't even need to say anything. They're great. Their chemistry was great. It didn't feel like they were acting; it felt like they were telling a story.
5. It actually had a perspective
"The rules don't make sense to me ... I don't know what I believe"
Kumail is Pakistani and comes from a Muslin family. This is a core struggle in the film and in many people's real lives. I personally have had to deal with cultural clashes in my relationships, but nothing as intense as this. I had heard similar struggles before through a friend who is from India. He helped me understand the complexities and emotions behind the decisions that I had never had to experience before, like arranged marriages. And I was so happy to see that actually explained in a sensitive and clear way throughout the film.
"That’s right, I am a terrorist. I just do stand-up comedy on the side to keep a low profile."
He also brought up bigotry of just being a Muslim in America. I think it is so important for people to tell these stories and expose people to the other perspectives and reactions. He laughed it off while Emily's mother stood up for him and attacked back. It brings up an interesting question - how do we deal with these situations best? How do we get people to understand each other better? Well, Kumail took the first step: Telling his story.
In conclusion -
If you haven't seen it, you need to.
If you have and liked it, what was your favorite part.
If you have and didn't like it, what? I don't understand.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!