The Big Sick - 1 nomination

Original Screenplay, Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani

Let's start here - it is hard for me to be objective about this film because I'm a HUGE fan of Kumail Nanjiani's.  I love his stand up comedy, I love Silicon Valley, I love the Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, I love his voice overs on Bob's Burgers, this list can go on but won't.  I had heard Kumail on The Nerdist podcast (now called ID10T), and so I knew this story a little bit before the movie came out.  He always seems like such a nice guy whenever he is being interviewed on podcasts, I've found him to be an endearing persona, at least.

Then came The Big Sick, the film about his and his wife's real life experience about a time in their lives when they were dating, they had broken up over cultural expectations from their families, and she (Emily) fell ill to the point that before her parents could arrive in town, he had to make the decision to put her into a medically induced coma... as her EX-boyfriend (no pressure, right?).  When her parents come to town, they have the awkward situation of being together in the hospital and in her apartment.  Their discomfort around each other passes quickly, and eventually their common love of Emily moves them past any initial cultural boundaries.

This film is touching, it's really really funny (I missed one scene because I was laughing so hard from the prior scene), and without knowing how much of the storytelling is real, it still feels incredibly authentic.  This was one of my favorite films of 2017.  Do not miss it.