130.
The Big Sick
8/10
This was another Odeon Screen Unseen and from the clues, myself and a lot of other people thought the movie was going to be the new Tom Cruise one. We got to the cinema late and missed the opening credits to see what the movie as and simply thought that the beginning was some sort of short movie about a stand-up comedian. The longer it went on, the more we realised that this was the movie and I hadn't a clue what I was in store for.
So, the comedian is Pakistani and making fun of the way he grew up, between his show slots, he drives an Uber cab around Chicago. They are a close-knit group of comedians involving Kumail himself, CJ, Mary and Chris, who they admit is the least funny. When they spot a talent scout for a show in Canada, they all are looking to impress. During one of his performance, Kumail gets cheered on by young woman named Emily she's given him a 'woo hoo'. After the show, he approaches her and tells her that it's rude to heckle during the show. She doesn't see it the same way and instantly her friend leaves the bar as the attraction grows between these two. He tries a few things to impress her, including writing her name in Urdu, before she reveals she is training to be a therapist. The two move on and head back to his place, watch a movie and get it on. She regrets it and soon wants to leave by calling and Uber, the obvious, nearest driver being the guy she is lying next to. So, we have been introduced to our two main characters so far, their occupations and a little bit of a life story through the comedy.
We are now seeing another side, in the Pakistani household. The family are sitting down to dinner and Kumail's mother has arranged for a female to come visit. Clearly someone that she wants her son to get to know for the arranged marriage. She always says that they are simply in the neighbourhood, but Kumail has no interest in these woman, even though he keeps all of their pictures in a cigar box. Instead, Kumail and Emily continue to see each other without any of his family knowing. She attends is awful one-man-show, they go back to his place for a movie and more sex and have a weird exchange at night. She wants to leave to get a coffee across the road but in fact she doesn't want to have a shit at his place. He waits outside the apartment until she is done and then she asks to be taken home. She requests that they never speak again but as she walks in through the door, he immediately calls her and they go upstairs.
A few days later and Kumail spends some time with his brother, finally admitting that he is seeing a white girl. Naveed doesn't take this well and asks him to follow their tradition, reminding him of their cousin who has been disowned for not doing what the family wanted. The scene switches to the couple shopping and Emily complains about a twisted ankle from dance class. Back at his apartment and she finds the cigar box with the pictures. Freaking out, not listening to his reasons for having them, she finds out about the arranged marriage deal and that Kumail's family doesn't know anything about their relationship. She storms out and we are left wondering if they will ever see each other again. With over an hour left, I'm sure they will. That night, after another stand up show, takes a woman home after the same Urdu trick. I need to get in on this. Also, this guy doesn't hang around, fair play. In bed, he gets a call from Jesse, Emily's friend, insisting that he goes to the hospital after Emily is in for sickness. He shows up and she isn't too pleased to see him, just before a doctor pulls him out of the room and tells him that she has an infection in her lungs and they need to put her in an induced coma. The doctor pushes him to lie about being her husband so that he can sign the forms allowing the treatment. Once she's under, he uses her thumb to unlock her phone and call her parents. Once they show up, they quickly want to get rid of Kumail, obviously knowing about their daughter and his relationship and more importantly, how it ended. Terry, the dad, is a little more understanding whereas the mum thinks Kumail screwed it up with Emily. The three are in a room as a doctor update them and later, in the canteen, Kumail is called over by Terry to come and sit with them. The topic is a little awkward and on the topic of the 9/11 attacks. The kind of humour for this movie is shown as Kumail is asked his opinions and instantly discuss that they lost 19 good men. Insinuating that he is a terrorist sympathiser. He quickly shows that he is joking but it's a brilliant, if not dark sense of humour. I was in stitches. The humour throughout is pretty dry and right up my street.
The parents are staying in Emily's flat because they don't live in the area. They invite Kumail in but he tries his best to avoid spending time with them. In the end, they go to his show at the comedy club to take their mind of things as best they can. They are both enjoying this form of comedy, that's until some jock starts piping up and heckling Kumail racially. Beth takes more offence and wants to fight the guy, before she is chucked out of the club. Back at Emily's and Terry is passed out on the couch as Beth shows Kumail pictures of Emily when she was younger and in a goth phase. Back at Kumail's and he is nowhere to be seen as the mother has brought yet another woman over. They try to introduce the two to each other another time but Kumail takes her home and lets her down, showing his true feelings about Emily to this woman. He has finally come to the realisation of how her feels and he isn't afraid to tell his family.
The doctors realise that Emily needs to stay in the coma longer than they thought, just to be safe. Beth is worried and wants to move her to a better hospital, but Kumail asks the nurses and they explain why this is a bad idea, so now he must stop the parents with their plan. He also tells her about the bad ankle that she was complaining about and instantly you can see a light bulb ping in her head. Things are becoming more strained between Beth and Terry and the later ends up spending the night at Kumail's. He admits to Kumail that he once cheated on Beth and she has never really forgiven him for this. He knew he really loved his wife after the experience. The next morning and Terry has left to go to the hospital, both are moving on with their plan of taking Emily to a new hospital, leaving Kumail pleading with them to stop. This guy is spending every day that he can there with this unconscious woman that pretty much hates him, that's some dedication. Back at his own place, Kumail's parents show up, wanting answers on why he rejected their latest set up. He finally spills the beans and is instantly disowned for being selfish. So far, I think is guy is being anything other. You tell them mate. He finally flips out at a fast food joint, when they won't put extra cheese on his burger. This is the first time that this guy has shown any raw anger and emotion, other than wanting the parents to not move Emily. He gets a text, reminding him about the audition for Canada is in 20 minutes. When he arrives, he is clearly not in the right frame of mind. As he gets on stage, he breaks down and talks about Emily instead, unable to hide his emotions. He visits her that night and whispers that it's ok if she wants to let go now.
The next day and he is wondering what the hell has happened. He gets a text from Terry asking him to visit the hospital and when he arrives at the door to Emily's room, she is sitting up, all smiles and with her parents. The three are told what has caused Emily's condition and once they leave the room, Kumail walks in to Emily. She's still clearly mad. He makes her sad and she doesn't want to see him. He leaves and see Beth in the corridor, stating that it's crazy for what they have been through and may not see each other again. Beth wonders whether that has to be so. The parents organise a welcome home party for her and obviously invite Kumail. He brings gifts for her and she takes him into her bedroom in private, so that he can say how much he has changed for her. He doesn't think it's healthy for them to set their sights on something that they don't feel mutually about. Yet again he is leaving feeling rejected. He heads back to the comedy club to see his friends. They've decided to leave for New York and want him to leave with them. Knowing he no longer has anyone else, he accepts and is soon packing. Life goes on, Kumail goes to his family's house and receives the silent treatment. He refuses to be kicked out of the family and leaves stating his case well. Beth and Terry can now share a bed together again, Emily goes through physical therapy and Kumail carries on his one man show. Whilst Emily is in bed, she watches the show that Kumail did when he broke down. Realising that what he said was truly sincere. Beth talks her and tells her that Kumail was there, every single day. Finally, it's his final one man show and at the end we see that his brother has come to see it. As they chat, in walks Emily, who he admits about moving away to. She seems reluctant to talk about why she is actually there in the first place and wishes him good luck instead. As he packs the car, his parents pull up but only his father can face looking at him. He insists that his son is still kicked out of the family but wishes him the best for the future. The film ends with Kumail bringing his comedy show to the New York crowd and a 'woo hoo' can be heard from a female. It's Emily with some of her friends. With some exchange, he asks where she is from and she says that she is there to see someone. The two share a smile as the credits begin, drawing an end to the movie. In the credits, we see pictures of the real characters from this movie. We see Kumail and Emily having a traditional Pakistani wedding, all with her and his parents both standing in the pictures.
I had no idea that this was based on a true story and it has become a guilty pleasure for the year. It made me glad that the screen unseen was this movie, a lot more than watching something with Tom Cruise. The humour appealed to me in all ways. It was dark at times, dry and there was a lot of people not taking themselves too seriously at times. When it came to the more emotional scenes, they were delivered well by two main characters I had never seen before. Ray Romano played Terry and his own dry characteristics added to each scene he was present in. It left you rooting for the two to work things out and at one point, I thought it was doomed but to see the ending we did, left it on a cliff hanger on whether they made it, until we see the real-life pictures of the wedding. You become attached to each character which is the sign of a good if not great romantic comedy, but this one didn't follow the normal conventions of the genre. It shows that what you value can sometimes depends on the greatest of sacrifices. It turns out to be so much more than just a rom-com and gives people confidence, once again, within the genre.
The parents are staying in Emily's flat because they don't live in the area. They invite Kumail in but he tries his best to avoid spending time with them. In the end, they go to his show at the comedy club to take their mind of things as best they can. They are both enjoying this form of comedy, that's until some jock starts piping up and heckling Kumail racially. Beth takes more offence and wants to fight the guy, before she is chucked out of the club. Back at Emily's and Terry is passed out on the couch as Beth shows Kumail pictures of Emily when she was younger and in a goth phase. Back at Kumail's and he is nowhere to be seen as the mother has brought yet another woman over. They try to introduce the two to each other another time but Kumail takes her home and lets her down, showing his true feelings about Emily to this woman. He has finally come to the realisation of how her feels and he isn't afraid to tell his family.
The doctors realise that Emily needs to stay in the coma longer than they thought, just to be safe. Beth is worried and wants to move her to a better hospital, but Kumail asks the nurses and they explain why this is a bad idea, so now he must stop the parents with their plan. He also tells her about the bad ankle that she was complaining about and instantly you can see a light bulb ping in her head. Things are becoming more strained between Beth and Terry and the later ends up spending the night at Kumail's. He admits to Kumail that he once cheated on Beth and she has never really forgiven him for this. He knew he really loved his wife after the experience. The next morning and Terry has left to go to the hospital, both are moving on with their plan of taking Emily to a new hospital, leaving Kumail pleading with them to stop. This guy is spending every day that he can there with this unconscious woman that pretty much hates him, that's some dedication. Back at his own place, Kumail's parents show up, wanting answers on why he rejected their latest set up. He finally spills the beans and is instantly disowned for being selfish. So far, I think is guy is being anything other. You tell them mate. He finally flips out at a fast food joint, when they won't put extra cheese on his burger. This is the first time that this guy has shown any raw anger and emotion, other than wanting the parents to not move Emily. He gets a text, reminding him about the audition for Canada is in 20 minutes. When he arrives, he is clearly not in the right frame of mind. As he gets on stage, he breaks down and talks about Emily instead, unable to hide his emotions. He visits her that night and whispers that it's ok if she wants to let go now.
The next day and he is wondering what the hell has happened. He gets a text from Terry asking him to visit the hospital and when he arrives at the door to Emily's room, she is sitting up, all smiles and with her parents. The three are told what has caused Emily's condition and once they leave the room, Kumail walks in to Emily. She's still clearly mad. He makes her sad and she doesn't want to see him. He leaves and see Beth in the corridor, stating that it's crazy for what they have been through and may not see each other again. Beth wonders whether that has to be so. The parents organise a welcome home party for her and obviously invite Kumail. He brings gifts for her and she takes him into her bedroom in private, so that he can say how much he has changed for her. He doesn't think it's healthy for them to set their sights on something that they don't feel mutually about. Yet again he is leaving feeling rejected. He heads back to the comedy club to see his friends. They've decided to leave for New York and want him to leave with them. Knowing he no longer has anyone else, he accepts and is soon packing. Life goes on, Kumail goes to his family's house and receives the silent treatment. He refuses to be kicked out of the family and leaves stating his case well. Beth and Terry can now share a bed together again, Emily goes through physical therapy and Kumail carries on his one man show. Whilst Emily is in bed, she watches the show that Kumail did when he broke down. Realising that what he said was truly sincere. Beth talks her and tells her that Kumail was there, every single day. Finally, it's his final one man show and at the end we see that his brother has come to see it. As they chat, in walks Emily, who he admits about moving away to. She seems reluctant to talk about why she is actually there in the first place and wishes him good luck instead. As he packs the car, his parents pull up but only his father can face looking at him. He insists that his son is still kicked out of the family but wishes him the best for the future. The film ends with Kumail bringing his comedy show to the New York crowd and a 'woo hoo' can be heard from a female. It's Emily with some of her friends. With some exchange, he asks where she is from and she says that she is there to see someone. The two share a smile as the credits begin, drawing an end to the movie. In the credits, we see pictures of the real characters from this movie. We see Kumail and Emily having a traditional Pakistani wedding, all with her and his parents both standing in the pictures.
I had no idea that this was based on a true story and it has become a guilty pleasure for the year. It made me glad that the screen unseen was this movie, a lot more than watching something with Tom Cruise. The humour appealed to me in all ways. It was dark at times, dry and there was a lot of people not taking themselves too seriously at times. When it came to the more emotional scenes, they were delivered well by two main characters I had never seen before. Ray Romano played Terry and his own dry characteristics added to each scene he was present in. It left you rooting for the two to work things out and at one point, I thought it was doomed but to see the ending we did, left it on a cliff hanger on whether they made it, until we see the real-life pictures of the wedding. You become attached to each character which is the sign of a good if not great romantic comedy, but this one didn't follow the normal conventions of the genre. It shows that what you value can sometimes depends on the greatest of sacrifices. It turns out to be so much more than just a rom-com and gives people confidence, once again, within the genre.
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