"The Big Sick" Hits it Out of the Park as a Sophisticated Romantic Comedy -Produced by Judd Apatow

"The Big Sick" is a smart, delightful romantic comedy written by & starring comedian/actor Kumail Nanjiai.  The story is co-written by his wife Emily Gordon ideally played  by Zoe Kazan.  Kumail is a Pakistani-American (b Pakistan 1978) whose parents immigrated to the US when he was a youngster.  The conflict & comedy come from the expectation Kumail will maintain his family's  Muslim religions traditions and Pakistani heritage.  Kumail naturally assimilates in the American melting pot.  The heat turns up rather quickly between Emily & Kumail. She gets his attention by heckling Kumail during his stand-up.  The easy rapport & clever dialogue between the two makes them a shoe-in as a happy duo.  But, as their relationship deepens Kumail reveals the improbability of being together in the future feeling obligated to conform to an arranged marriage with a Pakistani woman.  This is a real deal breaker.  Soon after their split, Emily becomes seriously ill.  Kumail is called by a friend of Emily's to support her at the hospital.  Her health deteriorates rapidly & Kumail  signs a release "as her husband" to put her into an induced coma to combat a possibly fatal infection.   Kumail becomes a steadfast, vigilant fixture at the hospital during her frightening ordeal.  He contacts her parents, Beth (Acad Award winner Holly Hunt) and Terry (Ray Romano "Everybody Loves Raymond").  The parents aware of the recent break-up are grateful for his help but now want him banished.  The movie is a cosmic cocktail mix of the crazy lives of comics and the inexplicable bonds of love & unbreakable family ties.  The comedy club scenes are brilliant & Kumail's one man show of life as a Pakistani-American is brilliantly droll.   Kumail maintains close ties to his parents & married brother, Naveed (a scene stealing Adeel Akhtor) with their weekly family meal.  Every meal a gorgeous, single Pakistani women "just happened to drop in."  The extreme stance & umbrage taken by Kumail's parents with his defiance to an arranged marriage & daily prayers are overplayed but not without warmth.  Beth & Terry, Emily's parents, are rightfully worried about their daughter's welfare.  They bring their own marital baggage.  Underlying all the neurotic personalities there's a camaraderie & comedy that's hard to heckle.  If you have to explain the joke, then the joke's not funny.  The odds of the Cubs winning the World Series are as rare as a winning, romantic comedy.  "The Big Sick" defies the odds by scoring a big hit.  "The only honest art form is laughter, comedy." (L Bruce)