The Big Sick

The film had a really slow start for my taste. I didn't really get why it was supposed to be a comedy. Ironically, I only got it when things started to get serious and Emily's parents came on the scene. That's when I started enjoying myself and it lasted almost till the end of the film. Almost. The ending was all-American, sappy and predictable and robbed the film of a potential fourth star. (01/30/2018)

It follows strictly the tried and tested plot of a typical Sundance midcult feel-good flick; i.e. it’s not serious about serious things, with social overtones, not overdone and with likeable characters. Of course, it doesn't matter at all if it makes you laugh, moves you, and also teaches you something about cricket in Pakistan. (07/16/2017)

I was wondering how a romantic comedy could be so entertaining that it dazzled at the Sundance Film Festival and then also as the opening film at the Karlovy Vary festival. It turns out that romantic comedy really can be very funny and perfectly disarming. At first glance, it's a seemingly unoriginal romance involving a stand-up comedian, but on the other hand, it's fantastic fun with great jokes and interesting developments. (07/23/2017)

Don't expect a romantic comedy from this. Except for one inappropriate joke about September 11th and a few amusing moments, the attempts at humor fall flat - especially considering the environment of stand-up comedians in which Kumail works. As a melodrama that wants to touch and manipulate your emotions, it surprisingly works well. The mere three stars I'm giving it are due to the cast. The chemistry between the central duo is minimal, but it's not just about their interaction. They simply lack the charisma to capture the audience's attention and carry the main roles in their respective genre. Kumail is simply not Hugh Grant or Colin Firth, and Zoe Kazan is not Meg Ryan. And here's another observation: rather than an indie film from the Sundance festival, this reminds me of a Hollywood studio production. The arranged brides look like a portfolio of a Pakistani modeling agency, and potential conflicts and barriers are overlooked and retouched. Rebelling against established norms, such as arranged marriages, is one thing, but admitting to parents the loss of religious faith and transitioning to agnosticism or even atheism in the conservative environment of Pakistani Islamic conception is incomparably more serious and hardly imaginable. The only possible consequence here would be immediate and complete expulsion from the family and community. It is good to remember that the (extended) family and community have a crucial significance in Islamic society, which the individualistic and rationalized West usually underestimates and disregards. Overall impression: 65%. (08/04/2019)

A very nicely constructed romantic conversational drama with a delightful final scene and a thematic update in the form of Muslim traditions in the midst of Western society. But my impressions are mixed, on the one hand, there are several times in the first half when the film goes against conventional expectations, moving from traditional romantic formulas to more serious and expansive themes, but then it uses quite unbelievable characters with exaggerated reactions for its social expression, and only the otherwise routine romantic storyline fully works in the end. At times it can be emotional, and in the second half the story surprises again by stubbornly delaying the happy ending, but the cathartic effect is weakened by the fact that easygoing humour is constantly injected into a hugely complex life situation, and the narrative somewhat unthinkingly gives so much space to the parents of the sick Emily, whose life views and attitudes go well beyond intellectual conventions. In any case, it's a very smart film that, unlike most of its contemporaries, has something to say globally and intergenerationally. Very strong 3*. (12/25/2017)