Director Michael Showalter's The Big Sick was easily one of the sweetest, most beautiful films of 2017, and only ultimately boosting those adjectives is the fact that the film is based on a true story. The movie brings to the big screen the story of how Kumail Nanjiani and his now wife, Emily V. Gordon first fell in love, and the amount of emotion and passion that went into the making of the movie is palpable. It's why seeing something like this hospital ID badge that Nanjiani recently posted is by itself really wonderful:
Based on a script written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, The Big Sick chronicles the former's experience dealing with the latter's parents (Holly Hunter, Ray Romano) while she was in a medically-induced coma early in their relationship. With this post on Twitter, Nanjiani is showing the story's connection to reality, showing off a hospital badge discovered by Gordon's mother. According to the writer/actor, this little memory is from the first time that Nanjiani ever met his future in-laws, as he had given them his phone number so that they would be able to contact him whenever.
Kumail Nanjiani's caption clearly indicates that seeing the visitor badge was kind of an emotional punch, but after seeing The Big Sick you can understand why. As portrayed in the movie, it was a deeply stressful time for all involved, with nobody knowing if Emily Gordon would pull through, and even though everything worked out, it can't be easy to have those memories come flooding back. And frankly, being able to understand Nanjiani's perspective here speaks volumes about the impact of his 2017 film.
The Big Sick first hit theaters this past summer, making some big bucks in limited release, but there's a very good reason why it's been coming up in conversation a lot recently. After all, now is the time that we reflect on the best and the worst that the past year had to offer, and Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's movie definitely fits in the former category.
For those of you who haven't yet seen it, the film is now available for purchase on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital, and this likely won't be the last time you hear about it. The Big Sick was one of 2017's best movies, and as a result has been a subject of many discussions now that we are in the heart of award season. We'll just have to wait and see what kind of nominations and hardware it ultimately picks up, but regardless of any of that it should still be celebrated as a wonderful, sweet, and romantic bit of cinema.
