I used to listen to Kumail Nanjiani’s “X-Files Files” podcast, and occasionally he’d reference the time when his girlfriend was in a coma. Although it registered with me as an unusual thing to have in one’s background, I didn’t realize it was enough of a story for a full movie. A few years later, I’m lauding that movie — “The Big Sick” (now available via streaming and Redbox) — as 2017’s best comedy so far.
Nanjiani is known to most from TV’s “Silicon Valley”; he also stole a scene as a massage therapist in last year’s “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” and he was in one of the “X-Files” revival episodes. In “The Big Sick,” he plays himself. Consummate girl-next-door Zoe Kazan plays his girlfriend Emily. Both play a decade younger than their ages, but both are young-looking enough that it’s not distracting.
Directed by Michael Showalter (“Wet Hot American Summer”) from a script by Nanjiani and his wife, Emily Gordon, this is a simple story: Boy meets girl, girl gets sick. But the details make it shine, including through-lines on the Chicago comedy club scene and Pakistani traditions.
The bond between Kumail and Emily is understated, which fits with the impression I got from when Emily popped into the podcast. While I sometimes wanted more, the brisk portrayal of their courtship dodges any sense of self-indulgence in the script. In the movie, Kumail is naturalistically witty, and Emily can mostly keep up with him; they are so dry that I wouldn’t necessarily know that they are falling in love. It’s a gradual thing, and that’s like real life, I suppose.
Similarly, I like how Kumail doesn’t immediately bond with Emily’s parents even though they share the stress of worrying about Emily in the hospital waiting room. It happens with small moments, with the occasional big one peppered in, notably Beth (Holly Hunter) telling off a comedy-club heckler who says Kumail should “go back to ISIS.” Or a humorously awkward one, like when Terry (Ray Romano) – crashing at Kumail’s apartment – wants to have a lights-out talk about how he cheated on Beth.
“The Big Sick” includes at least two laugh-out-loud moments – one that shows it’s not too soon for 9/11 humor if it’s delivered with proper awkwardness in a hospital cafeteria, and another in the living room of Kumail’s parents’ house as his set-up date (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” Vella Lovell, adopting a Pakistani accent) waits for him. The lesson is: Don’t talk in front of someone in another language unless you’re positive they don’t know that language.
Although this is stating the obvious, Kumail’s issues are not so different from any other American’s. The specifics are unusual, as his parents believe in arranged marriage to a Pakistani girl, which is why he keeps his relationship with a white girl a secret. But Kumail is such a normal young American guy – aside from his accent – that the film drives home the point that we’re all human beings, without being heavy-handed about it (I’m being much more heavy-handed in this paragraph). There’s a great scene between Kumail and his dad (Anupam Kher) that could happen in any culture, aside from the fact that Azmat says he is forbidden from hugging his son; we understand that’s his equivalent of hugging him.
A nice indie score and soundtrack, along with spot-on production design — such as Kumail’s dingy apartment — and locations in Chicago, combine to make this feel like the real story that it is. There’s never much doubt about the direction “The Big Sick” is heading in, but it plays the familiar love-story notes beautifully right down to a final image that will leave a smile on your face.