Film discussion: The Big Sick

September 11, 2017
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I have to admit that summer isn’t my favorite time of year, especially since my dermatologist has ruined sun-bathing for me and mosquitoes do their level best to lessen my enjoyment of the out-of-doors.

But more important than all of those things is the simple fact that fall brings Telluride-by-the-Sea to The Music Hall, while summer does not. It’s not so much that I really want to watch six movies (or more) over a weekend, as that I’m morally obliged to attend as TMHMG. What would people think if I actually stayed home and worked in the garden while the biggest film festival of the year was on?

It’s too horrible even to think about.

But before we get to TbtS, we have a little appetizer that I think you’re going to enjoy. It’s a romantic comedy with the odd title The Big Sick, that was a hit in the MallPlexx 51 theaters earlier this year and which TMH is giving you a second chance at.

The Big Sick is a based-on-real-life comedy about Kumail, a Pakistani comedian trying to make it in stand-up comedy who falls in love with a non-Pakistani girl despite the best efforts of his parents to arrange an ethnically appropriate match with a string of Pakistani women. When the romance falters and the girl falls ill, Kumail gets to meet her parents while she’s in a coma.

No matter how many rom-coms (at sitcoms) you’ve seen about ethnically mixed romances, awkward meetings with parents and medically induced comas, I think The Big Sick will surprise you at some point. It’s a genuinely funny movie (in an observant, sideways kind of way) and the romance seems quite original, including a clever use of Uber as a plot point.

I have the luxury of recommending The Big Sick after actually seeing it, which makes for a refreshing change. And I can pretty much guarantee that the remarkably small amount of both political content and hurricane coverage will make for a nice change.

Later this month, after a cooling-down-and-butt-repair week following TbtS, we will be discussing The Midwife on September 26.

I hope to see you tomorrow night in The Historic Theater at 7:00 and also for the discussion afterward.