Film of the Week: The Big Sick

Star of TV sitcom Silicon Valley, Kumail Nanjiani, takes a major step up with this autobiographical comedy he co-wrote with his wife. At first, we feel like we’re in standard romcom territory — standup Nanjiani undergoing a well-acted but familiar meet-cute with heckler (Zoe Kazan) and their burgeoning relationship coming up against his parents’ desire for him to marry a Pakistani girl. All fine, but what comes next is such a left-turn it has to be a true story: Kazan contracts a mystery disease and is put into a coma, bringing her own parents into the mix. It’s surprisingly tense, but this is no weepie – well-crafted gags keep coming, and Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are terrific as Kazan’s parents. Clashing cultures are well-mined territory, but this feels fresh, and it’s a pleasure watching one of comedy’shey-it’s-that-guy! nail his first leading role. Times & trailer