Now that Park City has been flushed of celebrities and returned to its sleepy, ski-town default, it's time to see what finds real widespread success after Sundance. Last year, Manchester by the Sea went on to become one of the most well-known Sundance contestants and fought for the Academy Award for Best Picture this February. This year's festival showcased a lot of exciting new films, including recent box office heavyweight Get Out, but one title we're especially excited for is Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's The Big Sick.
The movie has drawn a lot of attention and critical acclaim for its incredible true-story premise, which depicts the difficult beginning of Nanjiani and Gordon's relationship amidst familial disapproval and mysterious illness. Amazon Studios (which also nabbed Manchester by the Sea) smartly picked up this festival favorite, and it's slated for a wide July release. That might seem far away, but you can get excited for this original story now, as the film's trailer just landed.
You can catch the trailer, above, which leads with a quippy introduction by stars Kumail Nanjiani and Ray Romano before delving into the film's complex and touching story.
The film stars Nanjiani as himself, with Zoe Kazan as Emily and all-stars Ray Romano and Holly Hunter as her parents. Kazan has become somewhat of an indie darling herself, and wrote and starred in 2012's Ruby Sparks, a tale about a desperate writer who pens his own girlfriend. Nanjiani, meanwhile, has been a fixture in the comedy scene for some years now, landing guest appearances on Portlandia and Veep before he was cast as Dinesh in the critically-acclaimed ensemble comedy Silicon Valley.
Nanjiani and Kazan have wonderful chemistry in the trailer, and the tension between Kumail and Emily's parents is delicious. Critics have been praising this film for its unique story and heartfelt performances -- the movie holds a 97% at Rotten Tomatoes -- and this trailer makes it easy to see why. This looks like a delightfully devastating character study that's sure to draw chuckles and tears at the theater, but it's unclear whether it will be able to contend with studio franchises and sequels at the box office. Though Get Out's impressive box office numbers mean indie movies still have a chance against studio Goliaths, that film relied on a lot of word-of-mouth hype to turn out those figures.
It's unclear whether The Big Sick will see that same level of love, or if it will become yet another critically-acclaimed movie that brings in crumbs. Here's hoping the film gets the former treatment, and that this trailer will be the impetus for some well-deserved exposure.
Source: Amazon Studios
