Ten Stars or Less

6/10
The Big Sick is the kind of movie that rarely gets released where I live, and if it actually did, we would have to track it down to a small independent theatre with showtimes that never line up with our personal life. Thankfully it got released to one of the major theatres and we caught this rom-com with hopes of it being the dark horse for best comedy of the year. Despite the past work of Judd Apatow, this comedy wasn’t as hilarious as the trailer made it out to be. Kumail Nanjiani gives us a pretty solid performance in a story about his actual love life. I believe they took some artistic liberties to add more drama to the situation, because what relationship would complete without conflict. His love story with Emily is very unique, but I honestly felt that this story didn’t need a major motion picture. The film dives into the deep into the abyss of culture dividers and the acceptance/rejection that comes along with it. A handful of quality actors and actresses fill out the rest of the cast, who showcase a wide range of emotions while dealing with such a unique situation. Love is supposed to conquer all, including healing all relationship wounds and curing sickness. It is tough to love someone who doesn’t love you back and Kumail finds himself in this position, which causes a downward spiral in his professional life. I got to be honest and say from his stand up routine I am not sure he had much potential anyways, but some days I think I could totally nail a set at open mic night, then I remember I’m not actually that funny. There really isn’t much to this story, no butterflies, no rainbows, no kisses in the rain, no real devotion of love that we have come to expect from so many previous films. Maybe that was the whole point of this film or maybe it wasn’t. I was never into their relationship because I could never see these two actually ending up together. You may want to root for Kumail because he is a loveable loser, but he is smart and just wants to make a life of his own. Whether you can get deeply invested in this is something you’d have to see for yourself.