The Big Sick

"An awkward true story."

2017 2h 0m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 2,713

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

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Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.

“An awkward true story.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Nanjiani
Zoe Kazan
Emily Gardner
Holly Hunter
Beth Gardner
Ray Romano
Terry Gardner
Anupam Kher
Azmat Nanjiani
Zenobia Shroff
Sharmeen Nanjiani
Adeel Akhtar
Naveed Nanjiani
Bo Burnham
CJ

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Showalter
Writers: Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani
Languages: English, Urdu
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $56M — a 11.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Urdu.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

244+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Showalter, shot by Brian Burgoyne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Andrews. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Nassau shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan and Holly Hunter carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Showalter directs. Brian Burgoyne behind the camera. Michael Andrews scores. Robert Nassau cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Urdu.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $56M — a 11.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
2Released 9 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Urdu.
4244+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Michael Showalter, shot by Brian Burgoyne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Michael Andrews. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Robert Nassau shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan and Holly Hunter carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "An awkward true story.".
10IMDB entry: tt5462602 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 28 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "new york city", "immigrant", "muslim".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian Burgoyne
Original score: Michael Andrews
Editing: Robert Nassau
Production design: Brandon Tonner-Connolly
Makeup / hair: Leo Won
Sound: Tara A. Paul
Stunt coordinator: Jeremy Sample
Runtime: 120 min · 2h 0m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $56,303,596
Return: 1126% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Big Sick (2017)

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Michael Showalter

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What people are saying

DJDole2017-05-27
★ 10/10
Charmingly funny. Not a cliché comedy at all. A little heavy on the Uber references, but still a movie that can be watched multiple times. (Saw at a pre-screening in Seattle.)
jessetaylor2017-09-15
★ 8/10
A truly funny and immensely heartwarming While You Were Sleeping-esque romantic comedy. It's actually not fair to compare this to any other film because the story here is wholly real and not fabricated for the screen. This is Kumail Nanjiani's real life story about how he met his wife and it's incredibly moving. While Kumail and Zoe are both really great, the heart and soul of the movie is Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. They are truly superb and every scene they share with Kumail while Emily is in the coma is spectacular. I would watch this movie from start to finish again right now if I had it in me - it's incredibly taxing as it's an emotional ride; I cried maybe 4 times throughout the movie. It's amazing how reliably brilliant Holly Hunter always is and I hope she garners some awards attention for this performance. It truly moved me. Her delivery of "Do you mind?" before she gets into bed with Romano at the end was such a beautiful character moment.
Gimly2017-11-28
★ 5/10
FULL DISCLOSURE: I saw this while I was working my ass off in a foodtruck at an outdoor cinema. I missed whole chunks of it, and it certainly didn't have my full focus. I'll give it a proper chance at a later date, and alongside that, another review. What I did see of The Big Sick certainly held potential for me, I even had one genuine laugh, but American comedies rarely if ever resonate with me. I know this one plays it at a very different angle to your standard Sandler-esque faire, and I appreciate that, but I wasn't brought in enough from what I caught to get on board. Final rating:★★½ - Not quite for me, but I definitely get the appeal.