The Big Sick


The Big Sick is a 2017 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter and written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It stars Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, and Anupam Kher. Loosely based on the real-life romance between Nanjiani and Gordon, it follows an interethnic couple who must deal with cultural differences after Emily becomes ill.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017. It began a limited theatrical release on June 23, 2017, by Amazon Studios and Lionsgate, before going wide on July 14, 2017. One of the most acclaimed films of 2017, it was chosen by American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of the year and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. With a budget of $5 million, it grossed $56 million worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing independent films of 2017.

Plot

Kumail, an Uber driver in Chicago, is a struggling stand-up comedian with a one-man show about his Pakistani American background. His immigrant parents set him up with Pakistani women, expecting that he will follow their example of an arranged marriage, but he is uninterested.
After a show, Kumail has a one-night stand with Emily, a white student, and they begin a relationship. Kumail does not tell his family, fearful they will disown him. After five months, Emily finds photos of the women Kumail's parents have set him up with. When he tells her he does not know if they have a future, she breaks up with him.
Kumail learns that Emily has been hospitalized; she has a serious lung infection and must be immediately placed in an induced coma. He signs the permission form and calls her parents, Beth and Terry. Aware of their daughter's messy breakup with Kumail, they tell him he is not needed, but Kumail stays and the three become closer as they deal with Emily's illness. Beth and Terry attend one of Kumail's stand-up gigs, during which a racist audience member heckles Kumail, causing Beth to defend him.
Surgery is ineffective and the infection spreads to Emily's kidneys. Beth wants to transfer Emily to a different hospital, but Kumail and Terry disagree. Beth and Terry argue, and Terry stays at Kumail's apartment. Terry reveals that he cheated on Beth before and regrets it.
Kumail's parents visit, angry that he is not taking their marriage suggestions seriously. Kumail tells them that he does not want an arranged marriage and reveals his relationship with Emily. His parents disown him. Before an audition for the Montreal Comedy Festival, Kumail learns that the infection has reached Emily's heart. Distraught, Kumail tearfully recounts his fears about Emily's condition and fails the audition.
When Kumail mentions that Emily had an ankle injury that was slow to heal, the doctors realize she has adult-onset Still's disease, a serious but treatable illness. Emily wakes from her coma and, still pained from their breakup, Emily tells Kumail to leave. Nevertheless, Beth invites Kumail to Emily's homecoming party. Emily refuses to take Kumail back, reminding him that while he may have had a transformative experience during her illness, from her perspective nothing has changed.
Kumail decides to move to New York City with two comedian friends. He tells his family about his plans and refuses to allow them to reject him. Emily discovers a video of Kumail's disastrous audition in which he spoke about his feelings for her, and goes to find him after his show. Before she can explain, he tells her he is moving. Emily tells him she appreciates everything he did for her while she was in the coma and wishes him well in New York.
As Kumail prepares to depart, his parents visit. His father tells him they are still angry, but gives him a dish of his favorite food and asks him to stay in touch. As Kumail performs in New York, he is heckled by someone in the crowd; he sees that it is Emily.

Cast

In December 2015, it was announced Kumail Nanjiani would star in the film from a screenplay written by him and wife Emily V. Gordon, while Judd Apatow would produce alongside Barry Mendel, under their Apatow Productions banner, while FilmNation Entertainment would finance the film. Michael Andrews composed the film's score.

Casting

In February 2016, Zoe Kazan joined the cast, along with Holly Hunter and Ray Romano in April 2016. Unlike many of the other portrayals in The Big Sick, Romano's and Hunter's roles in the film were not modeled after Emily V. Gordon's actual parents. Instead, Hunter said that she never contacted or spoke with Gordon's mother before playing the part, as she wanted to "feel my own freedom with the character". In May 2016, Aidy Bryant, Bo Burnham, Adeel Akhtar and Kurt Braunohler also joined the cast of the film. David Alan Grier was cast in The Big Sick after he met with Emily V. Gordon when she was a writer for The Carmichael Show. Grier's role was part of a larger subplot that was ultimately cut from the film's release.
Anupam Kher's casting in the film was reported in June 2016. He was directly contacted by Kumail Nanjiani, as Nanjiani's father had recommended Kher play the role. According to Kher, his character's last scene in the film was the first scene he had filmed for the production. The Big Sick marks Kher's 500th appearance in a feature film.

Writing

The screenplay for The Big Sick is written by Emily V. Gordon and her husband Kumail Nanjiani and is loosely based on the real-life courtship between them before their marriage in 2007. According to Nanjiani, the idea to make a script about them was first inspired by the film's eventual co-producer Judd Apatow when the two met while appearing in a 2012 episode of the You Made It Weird podcast. Developed over the course of three years, the script has been called semi-autobiographical because, in addition to the two lead characters modeled after them, many of the events occurring during Gordon and Nanjiani's relationship are noted as being portrayed to an extent in the film.
Though not part of the original script, a real-life incident involving Holly Hunter heckling an unnamed player during a US Open tennis match inspired a similar scene in the film where Nanjiani's character is heckled during one of his stand-up sets.

Filming

began on May 11, 2016.

Release

The Big Sick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017. Shortly after, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film, after bids from Sony Pictures and Fox Searchlight Pictures. The $12 million acquisition marked the second-largest deal of the 2017 festival. Lionsgate partnered with Amazon on the U.S. release, and spent around $20 million on marketing the film. It also screened at South by Southwest on March 16, 2017, where it won an Audience Award in the category Festival Favorites. The film began a limited release on June 23, 2017, before going wide on July 14, 2017.

Reception

Box office

The Big Sick grossed $42.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $13.4 million in other territories, for a total gross of $56.2 million.
In the film's limited opening weekend, it made $421,577 from five theaters, finishing 17th at the box office. The film expanded to 2,597 theaters on July 14, 2017, and was projected to gross $9–11 million over the weekend. It grossed $7.6 million over the weekend, finishing fifth at the box office. On July 25, the film crossed $26 million, becoming the second highest-grossing independent film of 2017.

Critical response

The Big Sick received widespread critical acclaim. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 292 reviews, with an average rating of 8.29/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Funny, heartfelt, and intelligent, The Big Sick uses its appealing leads and cross-cultural themes to prove the standard romcom formula still has some fresh angles left to explore." It was rated as Rotten Tomatoes' #1 summer movie of 2017. On Metacritic, the film received an average score of 86 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "universal acclaim." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
In a review for the Toronto Star, Peter Howell gave The Big Sick four stars out of four, praising the film as "hilarious and heartbreaking", as well as applauding the performances of the entire cast. Richard Roeper similarly gave the film four stars out of four in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, labeling it as "without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in a long time." The Big Sick was also selected as an "NYT Critic's Pick" by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times. In her review, Dargis praised Michael Showalter's direction and the screenplay by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani for "revitalizing an often moribund subgenre with a true story of love, death and the everyday comedy of being a 21st-century American." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film: "It is funny and smart and wise and silly, it is romantic and sweet and just cynical enough, and it is without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in a long time."
While praising the lead performances, Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph wrote a mixed review for The Big Sick. Collin contends that director Showalter "never comes close to dampening down its leading couple's inextinguishable appeal." In a negative review for The New Yorker, Richard Brody wrote that the film "suffers from an excess of pleasantness, and this very pleasantness thins out its substance, blands out its tone, weakens its comedy."

Accolades

According to a poll conducted by AwardsDaily in July 2017, polling one hundred critics, The Big Sick was voted the second best film of 2017 so far, behind Get Out.
AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipientResult
AARP's Movies for Grownups AwardsFebruary 5, 2018Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
AARP's Movies for Grownups AwardsFebruary 5, 2018Best Intergenerational FilmThe Big Sick
Academy AwardsMarch 4, 2018Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
American Film InstituteJanuary 5, 2018Top Ten Films of the YearThe Big Sick
Austin Film Critics AssociationJanuary 8, 2018Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Austin Film Critics AssociationJanuary 8, 2018Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Austin Film Critics AssociationJanuary 8, 2018Top 10 FilmsThe Big Sick
Chicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 12, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Chicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 12, 2017Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 11, 2018Best PictureThe Big Sick
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 11, 2018Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 11, 2018Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 11, 2018Best ComedyThe Big Sick
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 11, 2018Best Actor in a ComedyKumail Nanjiani
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 11, 2018Best Actress in a ComedyZoe Kazan
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics AssociationDecember 13, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Detroit Film Critics SocietyDecember 7, 2017Best ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Detroit Film Critics SocietyDecember 7, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Detroit Film Critics SocietyDecember 7, 2017Best EnsembleThe cast of The Big Sick
Empire AwardsMarch 18, 2018Best ComedyThe Big Sick
Florida Film Critics CircleDecember 23, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Florida Film Critics CircleDecember 23, 2017Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Florida Film Critics CircleDecember 23, 2017Best CastThe cast of The Big Sick
Georgia Film Critics AssociationJanuary 12, 2018Best PictureThe Big Sick
Georgia Film Critics AssociationJanuary 12, 2018Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Georgia Film Critics AssociationJanuary 12, 2018Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Golden Tomato AwardsJanuary 3, 2018Best Wide Release 2017The Big Sick
Golden Tomato AwardsJanuary 3, 2018Best Romance Movie 2017The Big Sick
Gotham AwardsNovember 27, 2017Best ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Houston Film Critics SocietyJanuary 6, 2018Best PictureThe Big Sick
Houston Film Critics SocietyJanuary 6, 2018Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Houston Film Critics SocietyJanuary 6, 2018Best ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Humanitas PrizeFebruary 16, 2018Feature – ComedyEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
IGN AwardsDecember 19, 2017Movie of the YearThe Big Sick
IGN AwardsDecember 19, 2017Best Comedy MovieThe Big Sick
IGN AwardsDecember 19, 2017Best Lead Performer in a MovieKumail Nanjiani
IGN AwardsDecember 19, 2017Best Supporting Performer in a MovieHolly Hunter
IGN AwardsDecember 19, 2017Best Supporting Performer in a MovieRay Romano
Independent Spirit AwardsMarch 3, 2018Best Supporting FemaleHolly Hunter
Independent Spirit AwardsMarch 3, 2018Best First ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
IndieWire Critics PollDecember 19, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
London Film Critics' CircleJanuary 28, 2018Supporting Actress of the YearHolly Hunter
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists GuildFebruary 24, 2018Feature Motion Picture: Best Contemporary MakeupKirsten Sylvester and Leo Won
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists GuildFebruary 24, 2018Feature Motion Picture: Best Contemporary Hair StylingTonia Ciccone and Toni Roman-grimm
Online Film Critics SocietyDecember 28, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Palm Springs International Film FestivalJanuary 2, 2018Career Achievement AwardHolly Hunter
Producers Guild of America AwardJanuary 20, 2018Best Theatrical Motion PictureJudd Apatow and Barry Mendel
San Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 11, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
San Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 11, 2017Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
San Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 11, 2017Best Comedic PerformanceRay Romano
San Francisco Film Critics CircleDecember 10, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
San Francisco Film Critics CircleDecember 10, 2017Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Santa Barbara International Film FestivalJanuary 31, 2018Virtuoso AwardKumail Nanjiani
Satellite AwardsFebruary 10, 2018Best FilmThe Big Sick
Satellite AwardsFebruary 10, 2018Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Screen Actors Guild AwardsJanuary 21, 2018Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureThe cast of The Big Sick
Screen Actors Guild AwardsJanuary 21, 2018Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting RoleHolly Hunter
Seattle Film Critics SocietyDecember 18, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Seattle Film Critics SocietyDecember 18, 2017Best ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
South by SouthwestMarch 18, 2017Audience Award: Festival FavoritesThe Big Sick
St. Louis Film Critics AssociationDecember 17, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
St. Louis Film Critics AssociationDecember 17, 2017Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationDecember 8, 2017Best Supporting ActressHolly Hunter
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationDecember 8, 2017Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Women Film Critics CircleDecember 17, 2017Best Screen CoupleThe Big Sick
Writers Guild of America AwardFebruary 11, 2018Best Original ScreenplayEmily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani