DVD tip

The Big Sick

Let’s face it. This hasn’t exactly been a banner year for movies. Lackluster and underperforming seem to be the most appropriate words. But “The Big Sick” is one of the pleasant surprises of 2017. The mere plotline doesn’t sound promising: a stand-up comic (played by Kumail Nanjiani) from a Pakistani-American family falls for a Caucasian woman (Zoe Kazan); they date, break up, and he stays by her side when she ends up in a coma. But it’s a true story, and thanks to the script penned by Nanjiani and his now-wife, Emily Gordon, it’s a warmly affectionate and slyly funny piece.