Sometimes a romantic comedy is so intelligent that it stands out from the crowd, and that's exactly what happened with the 2017 film The Big Sick. Based on the true love story of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, the movie tells the story of Kumail (playing himself) and Emily (Zoe Kazan) as they meet, fall for each other, and then she falls into a coma.
Charming, sweet, and clever, the movie explores family backgrounds, the awkwardness of dating someone new, and what it really means to love someone. The characters are so compelling and really make the movie. Here is the MBTI of each of the main characters of The Big Sick.
Mary: INTJ
Kumail is a stand-up comedian, and one of his fellow comedian friends is Mary (played by the talented Aidy Bryant). At the end of the movie, Kumail's friends Mary and CJ (Bo Burnham) are moving to New York to try to really make it in the industry. He decides to go too.
Mary is ambitious, intelligent, and really funny. Her MBTI would be INTJ or "Conceptual Planner." INTJs have a "long-range vision" which describes Mary since she wants to move somewhere else and she's thinking about the future. She's "original" since she comes up with great jokes and writes her own material, and she's also "concise" and "efficient."
Sam Highsmith: INTP
Sam Highsmith (Ed Herbstman) is another comedian in The Big Sick. His MBTI would be INTP or "Objective Analyst." As a stand-up comedian, he's only in the movie for a brief period of time, so audiences don't know a lot of things about him, but from his stand-up, it's clear that he observes everything around him in a very particular way. As the official description says, " They typically adopt a detached and concise way of analyzing the world and often uncover new or innovative approaches." He's "cognitive" and "skeptical."
For example, part of his act is when he says, "I don't want kids. People say, 'Sam, you're gonna love it. This kid... you're gonna have a kid. He's gonna be your best friend.' A best friend that pukes on you and s***s everywhere and is constantly screaming. I already *have* friends like that."
CJ: ISTP
CJ (Bo Burnham) and Kumail are really close friends. He has a smart sense of humor, like when everyone is making fun of another comic, Chris (Kurt Braunohler) and CJ says, "He's like Daniel Day-Lewis except he sucks."
CJ is an ISTP or "Logical Pragmatist." Some people just say what they're thinking and that's what he does. As the description says, "People with ISTP preferences tend to enjoy learning and perfecting a craft through their patient application of skills." That could be applied to CJ and his work as a comedian. He's also "realistic" and "self-determined" and seems "adaptable" since he's cool with moving to a new city.
Naveed Nanjiana: ISTJ
Kumail's brother Naveed (Adeel Akhtar) loves teasing him, and they have an adorable and heartwarming sibling relationship. His MBTI is ISTJ or "Reponsible Realist."
The description says, "They typically enjoy working within clearly defined systems and processes in a traditional, task-oriented, decisive way." That's exactly Naveed. ISTJs "value tradition." He and Kumail have some tension in the film when he learns that Kumail has a girlfriend (Emily) who isn't of the same background. Since Naveed married someone from the same background, he feels very strongly about this tradition. He's also "practical."
Sharmeen Nanjiani: ENTJ
Kumail's mom Sharmeen (Zenobia Shroff) loves her son so much and wants to set him up. She's always inviting him over for a meal and then pretending to act surprised when a woman knocks on the door. Of course, she always invites them to join them while hoping to play matchmaker (and of course, she set it up all along). She tells these potential dates that Kumail loves The X-Files, which adds a funny element to these scenes since every single woman will bring up the TV series. (It's also fun for fans of Kumail since he's a fan of the show IRL.)
Sharmeen is an ENTJ or "Decisive Strategist." She's determiend to set up an arranged marriage for Kumail, so she does "think strategically about the future." She's "planful" and "straightforward." She's got a big heart, though. When Kumail is moving at the end of the film, his dad brings food that Sharmeen made: as Azmat says, "Biryani. For your trip. Your favorite. She made it herself specially for you with extra potatoes."
Azmat Nanjiani: ISTJ
Like Kumail's brother, Kumail's dad Azmat (Anupam Kher) is also an ISTJ. He will "honor commitments" and he's "reasonable" and "sensible."
When they discover that he's dating Emily, Kumail's mom and dad stop talking to him and it's a really heartbreaking moment in the movie. At the end of the film, when Kumail is moving away and his dad comes to see him off, he makes it clear that they're not happy with him... but they're always going to love and care about him. As he dad says, "I am forbidden from hugging you. So. It was nice to have you as my son. Goodbye forever. And do me a favor, when you reach New York, just text us and tell us that you've reached safely, okay?" That really says it all: his family will always be there for him, and they're all going to be okay.
Terry Gardner: INFJ
Ray Romano's The Big Sick character, Terry, is Emily's dad and Beth's wife. He's so funny in his unique way, and often seems like he's speaking too much for his brain to catch up with him. He has such an endearing way about him. He and his wife spend a lot of time with Kumail while Emily is in the hospital, and while at first her parents think that he broke her heart so they don't like him, they all bond.
Terry's MBTI would be INFJ or "Insightful Visionary." He's "quietly inspiring" and such a good, nice person. He's "insightful" and "sensitive." Oe of his funniest lines of dialogue is when he says, "Love isn't easy. That's why they call it love." Kumail replies, "I don't really get that either" and Terry says, "I know. I thought I could just start saying something, and something smart would come out."
Beth Gardner: ESTJ
Holly Hunter's The Big Sick character is super close with her daughter, and she's very honest and real with Kumail. She doesn't hide the fact that she's aware of the details of their relationship. One of her best lines: "You guys broke up. I’m not sure why you’re here. You don’t have to worry about being committed to anything, Kumail, You didn’t want to when she was awake, there’s no need to do it when she’s unconscious."
Beth is an ESTJ or "Efficient Organizer." She is "outspoken" and "realistic." She acts very tough and hardened, but that's because she's going through some marriage problems since her husband slept with someone else and they're trying to get through it.
Kumail Nanjiani: INFP
Kumail Nanjiani's character is an INTP or "Thoughtful Idealist." He's "devoted" to his work as a comedian and to Emily, he's "creative," and he's "empathetic."
Kumail is also very "gentle" and "introspective." He has a really tough time in the film navigating making himself happy and making his family happy. When he meets Emily, he says, "Now that the niceties are out of the way I have to tell you that when you yelled at me it really threw me off and you really shouldn’t heckle comedians, it’s so rude." He feels really strongly about this and he just had to tell her.
Emily Gardner: ESTP
Zoe Kazan plays Emily in The Big Sick and she's smart, funny, and doesn't shy away from telling someone off when they've done something wrong.
Emily's MTBI would be ESTP or "Energetic Proble-Solver." When she finds Kumail's box of photos of women that his mom has tried to set him up with, she gets upset that he didn't share it with her, and she wants him to commit to her without any of these extra complications. She's "outgoing" and speaks her mind no matter where she is, and she's also "fun loving" and "assertive."