Review: "The Big Sick" Restores Hope In The Rom-Com

Question for my fellow hip youths: is "zOMG" still a thing? Because I haven't said it in years, but this weekend, I finally watched The Big Sick, and, ZOMG. Alright- I was late to the party, I'll admit. But as has been well-documented on this blog, this has been a very good year in movies already, and there were bound to be a few that slipped in and out of theatres before I had a chance to see them.

One of those few was The Big Sick. I'll keep this review short and sweet because really, there's nothing too dense to unpack here. This is a refreshingly straightforward film, one that offers a reprieve from heavy, complex, morally ambiguous storylines that have become more ubiquitous these days. In a previous article, our own Daniel Baas ranked this as the second-best movie of the year so far, saying:

What first looked to be a decent indie RomCom turned out to be one of the better films of the year. With a wide gamut of emotions, The Big Sick explores love, family, and race through the eyes of Pakistani comic Kumail Nanjiani. It's wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. The film nails the emotional journey of Kumail, but does an even better job of weaving in the experiences he has with friends, his own parents, and the parents of his girlfriend (played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter). The Big Sick is unafraid of the issues it deals with, which makes for a great story, and one of the best comedies of the year.

That is a perfect primer for the experience a viewer has watching this lovely romantic comedy, a new standard for this seemingly dormant genre. That may sound dramatic, and I'm surely no expert, but it does seem from my unqualified vantage point that American romantic comedies have become overly schmaltzy and formulaic (Nicholas Sparks' stories come to mind), overly raucous and crude, or in some instances, overt Oscar bait (yes, I'll just say it, I DON'T THINK SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK IS GOOD. SUE ME).

The Big Sick isn't subverting the genre at all, just bettering it; there are no real surprises, other than how brilliantly it toes the line in each of its multiple facets. It's romantic and heartfelt in a genuine, not emotionally gouging way. It's contemporary and comedic without relying on graphic nudity or sexual situations as a crutch. It's sad and makes you ache without being a tragedy disguised as a romantic comedy. It discusses race and immigration in America in dialogue equal parts insightful and lighthearted, instead of coating it in a message as subtle as a movie named Crash.

The film tells the mostly true story of Nanjiani's real-life relationship with the writer, so there really aren't too many secrets about the key plot points. Still, I feel as if discussing too much plot here would be a disservice to you, the (potential) viewer. Just watch this movie. Watch the cast of comedians work their magic, watch the amazingly versatile acting jobs from Nunjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, and Holly Hunter; the latter two especially turning in incredible performances as the Mom and Dad figures so real and recognizable to many of us.

Let's see some more RomComs like these, Hollywood.