The Big Sick

Judd Apatow is the American master of bittersweet, the stateside answer to Ricky Gervais, if you will. His Directorial, writing and production resume is supreme and everything his steady hand touches often turns to gold from his more famous movies like The 40 Year Old Virgin to his cult favourites like the superb Netflix sitcom Love.

His latest production credit arrives with The Big Sick; a true-life tale of Pakistani comedian Kumail Nanjiani. Starring Nanjiani himself, and written by him and his wife Emily, it is an emotional, hilarious, honest and uplifting story of love, illness, race and culture.

The story follows Kumail on his path to becoming a successful stand up (with some very funny early scenes in comedy clubs with Kumail himself and, also, the fantastic Bo Burnham) but facing disapproval from his traditional Pakistani family for both his career choice and reluctance to agree to an arranged marriage.

He falls for an American girl (a brilliant Zoe Kazan, who does a huge amount with the depth of the character despite spending the third quarter of the film in a medically-induced coma.)

The film, like the majority of Apatow’s work, treads the line beautifully between belly-laughs (and there are some real, laugh-out-loud moments here) and drama. The relationships (not just the central couple but everyone from Nanjiani’s parents to Emily’s) feel real, earned and likeable and Emily’s illness (the clue’s in the title) is played out honestly, not for sympathy.

So much more than a romantic comedy about illness, so much more than a romantic comedy about race and culture, The Big Sick is a sweet and endearing film with true comedy. An absolute delight.

4 stars ****