Special Events 2017 / The Big Sick / USA 2017
Kumail’s parents would rather see their son as a lawyer married to one of the Pakistani girls they keep trying to fix him up with. But Kumail drives a taxi, performs stand-up at a small club in Chicago, and is dating a young American woman called Emily. The question of whether to honour tradition or listen to his heart seriously complicates his life.
Like many other comedians, Kumail wants to escape the small stages of out-of-the-way clubs and perform before a large audience. Yet he fails to impress the man capable of arranging an appealing engagement for him, and, what’s more, his new show on his Pakistani origins slips into a boring monologue. Kumail also struggles with his parents, who would rather see their son as a lawyer married to one of the Pakistani girls they keep trying to fix him up with. Things get even more complicated when he meets Emily and falls for her quirkiness and sense of humour. The question of whether to tell his parents about his girlfriend, who meets none of their basic criteria, seriously complicates Kumail’s life. The film’s husband-and-wife co-writers, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, based their film on their own life story, thus reinforcing its authenticity. Add to this the sense of lightness and immediacy typifying the film’s direction, and we get a fun and candid comedy that avoids the usual romcom clichés.
Sandra Hezinová
119 min / Color, DCP
European premiere
Director Michael Showalter
/ Screenplay Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani
/ Dir. of Photography Brian Burgoyne
/ Music Michael Andrews
/ Editor Robert Nassau
/ Art Director Andy Eklund
/ Producer Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel
/ Production Apatow Productions, FilmNation Entertainment
/ Cast Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher
/ Sales Amazon Studios
/ Distributor Aerofilms
Michael Showalter (b. 1970, Princeton, New Jersey, USA), comedian, producer, screenwriter and director, first came to the public’s attention as a member of the sketch comedy show “The State,” which was broadcast on MTV from 1993 to 1995. “The State” grew out of the eponymous comedy troupe that Showalter and his friends had formed while studying at New York University. In addition to his television roles, he has appeared in the films Wet Hot American Summer (2001), The Baxter (2005), and Reno 911!: Miami (2007). He directed Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015), starring Sally Field, which won the Audience Award at SXSW and the Producers Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Showalter is currently working on a satirical comedy series based on Wet Hot American Summer that will be broadcast on Netflix.
Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
Amazon Studios
1620 26th Street Suite 4000N, 90404, Santa Monica
United States of America
Ivo Andrle
Distributor
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