The romantic (and seasonally appropriate) tragedy Spoiler Alert makes the advantageous decision to be up front about where it’s heading from the opening scenes and title.
Michael Showalter
The Big Sick could be identified on one level as a combined romantic comedy and family drama that’s just as rousing as its lower aiming, crowd pleasing counterparts, but that would be selling it short. Sure, it’s one of those “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy doesn’t know what he had till it’s gone” narratives mixed with a story about the trepidation one feels when meeting a significant other’s parents, but there’s a rawness and freshness to The Big Sick that can’t be denied, slighted, or overlooked.