It was a runaway hit last month at Sundance, and soon you’ll be able to see The Big Sick onscreen in your city: the film, based on comedian Kumail Nanjiani’s real-life relationship with writer Emily V. Gordon, will hit theaters June 23rd.
Nanjiani and Gordon co-wrote the film (though while he plays himself, she’s portrayed by actress Zoe Kazan), which explores their courtship and marriage, and the unexpected obstacles that got in the way.
This isn’t the first time the two have worked together; they host wildly popular gaming podcast “The Indoor Kids” together, and Gordon is the co-creator and producer of long-running live (and Comedy Central) show The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail. Nanjiani is a touring standup and an actor best known as a lead on Silicon Valley; Gordon is an acclaimed writer who recently released the book Super You.
They’ve got a lot going on – but when they first met, years ago in Chicago, Nanjiani was a new-ish comic on the grind and Gordon was a practicing couples and family therapist. From the beginning, their relationship had setbacks: everything from their multi-cultural families showing varying degrees of disapproval (which they’ve spoken about before) to their lives being upturned when a sudden illness sends Gordon into a coma (which she’s written about before).
The film follows them through this exceptionally rough time in their lives, and tells the story in their own words; it promises to be a moving and insightful and, ultimately, a romantic look at what real life’s really like.
The Big Sick was produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Michael Showalter, with a cast that includes Bo Burnham, Aidy Bryant, Ray Romano, and Kurt Braunohler.
