Snap Judgment: Not Getting Sick of "The Big Sick"

Hey team,

If you haven't already heard about it, I'd like to roll out another Snap Judgment to tell you about "The Big Sick" (2017).

This is that thing in which I highlight five main points about a movie I've seen before revealing my overall 1-5 score.

Away we go!

• A movie about performing comedy that's actually enjoyable!

Unlike another film focused on similar content that I recently hated a whole lot on, "The Big Sick" portrays Kumail Nanjiani's life in the Chicago comedy scene in a manner that doesn't make you want to throw things at every single comic on screen.

First of all: the main reason I was super pumped about "The Big Sick" is that I had the pleasure of already being familiar with Kumail Nanjiani's thoroughly delightful stand-up.  It is excellent and I highly recommend it!

This is hardly to say that every character in "The Big Sick" is perfect or perfectly likable.  We see characters (like real-life comics Aidy Bryant, Bo Burnham*, and Kurt Braunohler) take turns smugly succeeding over their friends while others trot out horrifically flat bits.  We see them straight-up lie to each other's faces about the quality of their acts.

The great thing is, on at least one occasion, we also see them call themselves out as cowards for their dishonesty a second later.  We see other characters start to join their compatriots on the ladder of success.  We also see them shine in genuine moments of humor.  So in their totality, we end up feeling like we've had a little peek behind the curtain of the stand-up stage.

• Audience intelligence: respected

God knows I love a movie that doesn't beat me over the head with its plot points.  This is a movie that sits comfortably and assuredly in its subtleties and its audience's ability to perceive and value them.

There's one particular moment whose emotional impact only makes sense in retrospect, and it's one of the sweetest pay-offs of the film.  It's carried off by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, who are SO GOOD in their roles as Emily's (played by Zoe Kazan) parents.

The audience's intelligence and humanity is also respected as the film lays out the challenges of Kumail's attempts to coexist within his Pakistani culture of origin and American culture.  While he fears he cannot retain the love of his family if he deviates too much from the cultural expectations they hold, he nevertheless increasingly ensconces himself in American culture by pursuing his "just below ISIS"-level-unacceptability comedy career and forgoing religious and marital traditions.  We walk alongside Kumail as he negotiates the conflict between his two cultures and are trusted to see the value in both choices.

• Buckle up for some excellent hilarious lady time!

So many of the finest comedic moments belong to the ladies of the film.  Helen Hunt is so deliciously watchable in her no-bullshit yet affectionate feistiness.  Aidy Bryant has a particularly wonderful moment as she physically registers just how terrible one of Kumail's sets was.  I got so excited I nearly fell out of my chair when "Crazy Ex Girlfriend's" Vella Lovell showed up, and while her moments maybe aren't hilarious, she is so magnetic, self-assured, fierce, and charming.

But the biggest task of all of "The Big Sick" belongs to Zoe Kazan, who had to win us over and fully assert her personhood before promptly lapsing into a medically-induced coma for most of the movie.  She brings a fervent, heartfelt, sweet, yet firmly self-knowing fullness to the character of Emily, and the film is made much better for it.

• And yet: just barely passing the Bechdel Test

For all of the truly great things about "The Big Sick," one of the complaints I have is that it passes the Bechdel Test by the skin of its teeth.  For all of the excellent lady talent in this film, they almost squeaked by without having any of those ladies actually talk to each other about stuff other than dudes.  It's astonishing how high a bar this test continues to be.

• Rewatchability factor: high

I noted in my last post that Husband and I were headed to see this movie.  I went to see it again as part of a Birthweekend extravaganza with my little sister.  I don't often see movies twice in such a short period of time--the most recent example of this phenomenon is the STILL AWESOME "LEGO MOVIE" OMG, which holds the all-time record of being rewatched within 48 hours.

I'm very happy to say that "The Big Sick" totally holds up after a relatively rapid second viewing.  This film's love story is sweet and compelling and lacking in cliche.  Its story is well-told, thoughtful, and fun.  And best of all, it was the ladies' jokes that had me laughing hardest the second time around.

With that, I gave "The Big Sick" a 4.5.

Thanks for reading!

{Heart}


* = Sidenote: if you go to Bo Burnham's website and answer that "Yes," you're happy, you are re-routed to the "About Me" section of his website.

Alternatively, if you answer that "No," you're not happy, you are re-routed to a page about his dog Bruce--presumably to cheer people up.

Aw!!