Page 30 - aruba-today-20170620

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 20 June 2017
Can Kumail Nanjiani’s love story save the romantic comedy?

By JAKE COYLE was trying to arrange his on Pete Holmes’ podcast
AP Film Writer marriage. Their lives togeth- about five years ago.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kumail er were irrevocably altered “It really was a strange,
Nanjiani and Emily Gordon when an illness forced Em- wonderful romantic com-
made tweaks here and ily into a medically induced edy story. I thought: ‘No-
there to the autobiographi- coma. And — most unlikely body has a great story like
cal “The Big Sick,” a ro- of all — Nanjiani did grow this. This sounds like a mov-
mantic comedy based on up idolizing Hugh Grant ie.’ I sent Kumail and Emily
their own extraordinary ro- and styling his hair like him. off to start writing and we
mance. But the most unbe- “And you still kind of think worked really hard at it for
lievable things are 100-per- that’s the ideal hair to have years,” said Apatow. “Ev-
cent true. as a human being,” Gor- erything I do is hoping to
Their relationship did, as in don, gently chiding her be in the universe of ‘Terms
the film, evolve as Nanjiani’s husband and co-writer, of Endearment.’ We usu-
Pakistani-American family said in a recent interview ally don’t come close but
I think this is as close as
In this image released by Lionsgate, Kumail Nanjiani, left, and
Zoe Kazan appear in a scene from,”The Big Sick.” we’ve ever come.”
Associated Press Think of the modern ro-
mantic comedy and
alongside Nanjiani. com ardor, Nanjiani’s con- you’re likely to picture
“It’s gorgeous,” Nanjiani re- versation is punctuated by Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts
torts, proudly unapologetic. titles like “My Best Friend’s or Kate Hudson. It is, Nan-
“He was like my ideal of a Wedding,” ‘’Sleepless in Se- jiani grants, “probably the
man.” (Here Gordon cack- attle” and, repeatedly, his whitest genre.” And that’s
les) “He still is. The first best- beloved “Four Weddings one reason why “The Big
man speech in ‘Four Wed- and a Funeral.” Apatow Sick” points the rom-com
dings,’ when I look back, so recently introduced Nan- in a new direction. Many
much of my stand-up was jiani to its writer-director, of the funniest and natu-
aping the Hugh Grant de- Curtis, who gave him a few ral scenes in the film are of
livery. I love that movie.” signed frames from “Four Nanjiani sitting around the
In “The Big Sick” Nanjiani Weddings.” ‘’Kumail was dinner table with his Paki-
has filtered his undying love as excited as a man could stani family. (Anupam Kher
of rom-coms (particularly be,” said Apatow. and Zenobia Shroff play
the Hugh Grant-Richard Nanjiani, 39, grew up im- his parents; Ray Romano
Curtis variety) through his mersed in American pop and Holly Hunter play Em-
own improbable experi- culture. He moved to the ily’s parents.) In one scene,
ence in love. The film, di- U.S. at age 18 to go to Io- Nanjiani watches YouTube
rected by Michael Showal- wa’s Grinnell College. He videos on his phone while
ter and produced by Judd returned last month to give he’s supposed to be pray-
Apatow, has already been a commencement address ing.
hailed as one of the year’s where he encouraged It adds up to a rarely seen
best. Amazon plunked graduates to “have sex with snapshot of Muslim life in
down $12 million for “The an immigrant.” (“We’re go- America, at a time when
Big Sick” (in theaters Friday) ing through a really tough American openness to im-
after its lauded Sundance time right now,” he joked, migrants is severely chal-
Film Festival premiere in “and it would just be really lenged. Nanjiani is glad
January. great for morale.”) they made the film “before
“The Big Sick” is a refreshing He and Gordon (who’s all the anti-immigration sen-
anomaly for many reasons. played by Zoe Kazan in timent became so explicit.”
It’s a tenderly personal film the film) met in Chicago, “We just wanted to make
in the midst of the brutal where Nanjiani was a few a movie about family and
blockbuster season. It’s a years into his then-nascent, love,” said Nanjiani. “We’re
major release starring a still nerve-rattled standup very, very lucky because I
Pakistani-American actor career and Gordon was a think we would have had
(Nanjiani, famous to many practicing therapist. As in pressure to make a state-
for his role on “Silicon Val- the film, their first encoun- ment with it. The movie is
ley”). And it’s, by far, the ter was at one of his per- coming out in a very dif-
most exciting romantic formances. “He said, ‘Is ferent context than it was
comedy to come along in Pakistan in the house’ and made. I like that it human-
years — a rare shot-in-the- I woo-hoo’ed, helpfully,” izes a group of people that
arm for a moribund genre, Gordon recalls. When the are generally seen in a very
one nearly left for dead af- two officially met two nights specific way in American
ter too many conventional later, Nanjiani was drawn to pop culture.”
mediocrities. Gordon’s confidence and Gordon has her own issues
“I would love it to have a Gordon “liked the way his with romantic comedy
comeback,” Nanjiani said brain worked on stage” — conventions. She once did
of the rom-com. “They like an early bit of Nanjiani’s a workshop on how their
would need to be different about the first deer that ate formulas and expectations
from the glut of rom-coms psychedelic mushrooms. are ruining our love lives:
we had in the early 2000s. It Apatow heard Nanjiani tell overselling the bold roman-
would be good to see new, his story of meeting Gor- tic gesture and falsifying
different versions of it.” don, and the subsequent the synchronicity of two
Lest anyone doubt his rom- coma, while the two were people falling in love.q