‘The Big Sick’ NOT Just Another Ho Hum RomCom

dorriolds — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 11:36:28 +0000

Call it a romcom or a dramedy but I confess, what really drew me to this movie was hearing that Holly Hunter and Ray Romano were in it. I had a vague notion of what to expect from the star—comedian Kumail Nanjiani—based on his role in HBO’s “Silicon Valley.” So, I knew what he looked like and that he was funny, but could he carry a whole movie?
The answer is a big resounding YES.
The Big Sick is based on Nanjiani’s true story of his rocky romance that led to marriage. He co-wrote the script with his now-wife, Emily V. Gordon, who is played by the talented actor-playwright-screenwriter, Zoe Kazan. The co-producers are big names: Judd Apatow and two-time Academy Award-nominated Barry Mendel. Hunter shines as Emily’s mother, Beth, and Romano shows his acting chops as her father, Terry.
Technically, this film falls into the genre of romantic comedy but that label seems limited here. So many rom-coms bore us to tears with formulaic ho-hum-ness. This flick is not one of those. There are tears but they’re for the right reasons. It is a dramatic tale that explores everything from the ignorance behind the ridiculous fear of Muslims to being too chicken to stand up to family pressure.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon • © Dorri Olds.

Kumail and Emily lived through a strange route to romance. It began with what was intended as a one-night stand. Without meaning to, they fall for each other. Life throws in big obstacles, which creates the high drama and deliciously dark humor.

SEE ALSO: Hats Off to Holly Hunter as She Continues to Blow Us Away with Her Career Choices

The movie begins with Pakistan-born Kumail struggling as a stand-up comedian who is playfully heckled by audience member Emily. The two hook up after the show and end up in bed. Kumail and Emily experience strong feelings for each other but Kumail’s Muslim parents have even stronger feelings about who he should—and shouldn’t—marry. Every time he goes for a meal at his parents’ home, they try to fix him up with Muslim women. Watch for scene stealer Kuhoo Verma who plays Zubeida, one of the eligible Pakistani bachelorettes Kumail’s mom invited to dinner.

Comedian Kumail Nanjiani © Dorri Olds

When Emily suddenly falls ill with a mysterious sickness, Kumail realizes how much she matters to him. He rushes to the hospital where he awkwardly meets her parents for the first time during this medical crisis. For a third of the movie, Kazan’s character, Emily, is in a doctor-induced coma. In her absence, a fascinating and entertaining relationship is portrayed to perfection by Nanjiani, Hunter, and Romano.
Directed by Michael Showalter (“Hello My Name is Doris”) and also starring Anupam Kher, Shenaz Treasury, with David Alan Grier and Linda Edmond.
Look for my Holly Hunter feature article in Honeysuckle magazine’s issue, “HER.” In the meantime, here’s my short clip:
The Big Sick is now playing in theaters nationwide. Romance, Comedy, Drama. Rated R. 119 min.

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Mads Mikkelsen Goes From Hannibal to the Chickens

dorriolds — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 02:26:39 +0000

Danish stunner Mads Mikkelsen from NBC’s recently axed “Hannibal” stars in the twisted dark comedy “Men & Chicken.” The film, by Oscar-winning writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen, makes its North American premiere today, Friday, Sept. 11 at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
My movie crush on Mikkelsen began with his 2012 lead role in the Oscar-nominated steamy romantic thriller, “A Royal Affair.” Starring opposite Alicia Vikander (“Ex Machina”), he sizzled a message onto the screen: Hot!
His next starring role was in the award-winning “The Hunt.” Mikkelsen told me during our exclusive interview that he never planned on being an actor. He was a gymnast who just fell into it. After telling everyone I knew about the hot Danish actor, they saw for themselves when he became TV’s “Hannibal.”
In the hilarious “Men & Chicken” (“Mænd og Høns”), Mikkelsen plays drastically against type. Here we see him as Elias, a hare-lipped, prosthetic-nosed, purposely repulsive, mentally compromised, compulsive masturbator.
The movie begins with Elias’ also harelipped-but-slightly less-peculiar brother, the wiser Gabriel (David Dencik). After the death of their father, they receive a message from ole dead Dad. We see only his feet in the poorly aimed video as we hear his startling secret. The sons were both adopted and had different mothers.
Naturally shaken, the now half-brothers set out on a journey to meet their biological father. He is a 100-year-old scientist who lives on Ork, a sparsely populated island, in a crumbling mansion that was once a sanitarium. It is here they find out they have three hare-lipped, large-nosed and mentally bizarre brothers, Franz (Søren Malling), Gregor (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and Josef (Nicolas Bro). This is where the film becomes a cross between the hillbillies in “Deliverance” and “The Three Stooges” on crack.
With no access to females on the island of only 40 inhabitants, Gregor describes the pleasures of doing it with chickens, sheep and a bull. Elias, the guy who’s constantly excusing himself to go yank his weenie, calls Gregor disgusting.
This genre-bending comedy also sneaks sci-fi into the mix via malformed chickens that stroll by on odd feet.
Gabriel, the only bro with some semblance of normalcy, functions in the real world teaching evolutionary psychology and philosophy at a university. In an attempt to civilize his subhuman sibs and teach them morality, Gabriel grabs a dusty Bible off of their father’s bookshelf and instructs Josef to read it out loud. Josef interrupts the tale with an outburst. Because Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac, Josef states he was clearly mentally ill (pot calling the kettle black) and there was nothing to learn from him. It is a Quentin Tarantino-type message about mankind’s search for meaning — and the hypocrisies of religion and society — underneath a comic delivery.
Suprisingly, behind all of this madcap hilarity is a tender story about humanity and existentialism. The ending satisfies and the five misfits, despite their unique brands of oddity, prove to be mostly lovable in the end.
Mikkelsen is a household word in Denmark, and “Men & Chicken” is already a smash hit in theaters. Drafthouse Films just purchased the North American distribution rights. To find out when and where you can see the quirky, oddball movie gem, stay tuned on the “Men & Chicken” website or Facebook page.

Opening in New York & LA on April 22nd.

In Danish with English subtitles. Not rated. 104 min.

The post Mads Mikkelsen Goes From Hannibal to the Chickens appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Dark Comedy Archives - Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer

‘The Big Sick’ NOT Just Another Ho Hum RomCom

SEE ALSO: Hats Off to Holly Hunter as She Continues to Blow Us Away with Her Career Choices

Mads Mikkelsen Goes From Hannibal to the Chickens