The Big Sick might be one of the most unexpected romantic-comedies in recent memory. Not only did this small movie come out of nowhere and make audiences fall in love with it, but it also has one of the most unique stories for a movie in this genre.
Based on the real love story of the film’s writers, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, the movie is about a young man struggling with his Muslim faith and his love for his former girlfriend who is now in a coma. Despite the heavy subject matter, the movie is laugh out loud funny, with some of the most memorable lines in recent years. Here are the funniest quotes from The Big Sick.
Your Driver Will Be Ready As Soon As He Puts On His Pants
Given how unconventional their romance is, the first night Kumail and Emily meet is also decidedly different from most first dates. After meeting in a comedy club where Kumail is performing, the two go back to his place and have sex.
Not ready to get serious with the guy she just met, Emily decides to leave and calls an Uber. Luckily for her, her Uber driver is lying in bed next to her. This leads to an awkward but sweet ride home which kicks off their unusual relationship.
She Just Dropped In
The movie does a great job of showing us things in rom-coms that audiences have rarely ever seen before. One of the most interesting aspects is the honest and funny exploration of Kumail’s life as a Muslim and his complicated feelings about a potential arranged marriage.
Though Kumail’s parents are sweet and caring people, they continually pressure him into “meetings” with single Pakistani women. At each family dinner, they are greeted by a guest and his mother always insists “She just dropped in” every time, oblivious to how obvious her matchmaking skills are.
Can I Get A Burger With Four Slices Of Cheese
The movie is exceptional at walking that fine line between tragedy and comedy in a story that deals with life and death. As Emily’s condition gets worse, her loved ones struggle to deal with it in honest and funny ways.
Not sure what he is supposed to do, Kumail goes to a fast-food drive-thru and asks for a burger with four slices of cheese. When the confused server says they can’t do that, it sends Kumail over the edge. What results is an angry, painful but oddly hilarious breakdown at the drive-thru window.
Stonehenge
Once Emily falls into the coma, a large portion of the movie is dedicated to the uncomfortable interactions between Kumail and Emily’s parents, played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter. Romano is especially funny are the worried and awkward father, Terry.
After Kumail takes the parents back to Emily’s apartment, Terry tries to get Kumail to play some parlor games with him to keep his mind off things. Terry suggests a game in which you try to think of a word the other person can’t rhyme. Kumail immediately says “Stonehenge” and after a beat, Terry says “That’d be a winner.”
But Did They Look Under The Train?
Though a Muslim family is rarely at the center of a Hollywood movie like this, the movie really emphasizes how much Kumail’s family is like any other family you might meet. His overbearing yet sweet mother is a great example of this as many people could identify with having a mother like this, regardless of culture.
Kumail’s mother is always worried about him, especially after the family dinner. When she sees him again, his mother yells at Kumail saying they thought he was killed in a train accident they saw on the news. Kumail points out no one was killed in the train accident and she responds “But did they look under the train?”
Do You Want ISIS To Have More People?
Holly Hunter gives a powerful and funny performance as Emily’s mother, Beth. She is a woman that will do anything to protect her daughter and sometimes that can make her a little scary.
When Emily’s parents decide to get out of the house and go to Kumail’s comedy show, a heckler calls out to him, “Go back to ISIS.” Though she had previously not been too kind to Kumail, Beth jumps to his defense and rips apart the racist man. Her ferocious tirade against him is hilarious and makes you want to stand and cheer.
You Sound Like Julia Louis-Dreyfus
A large part of the movie focuses on Kumail’s struggle with building his own life in America with his family’s expectations for him as a Pakistani man. Aside from the religion aspect, Kumail’s brother, Naveed, often insults him for becoming more American.
As the two brothers are hanging out, Kumail makes a remark that Naveed thinks sounds too American. He calls him out by saying “You sound like Julia Louis-Dreyfus.” It’s a hilarious put-down just because of how little it makes sense and that she is the epitome of America to Naveed.
That’s Why They Call It Love
Some of the biggest laughs in the movie come from the awkward conversations between Kumail and Terry. They are both stuck in this terrible situation together and Terry’s marriage to Beth is not as strong as it once was. So he turns to Kumail to connect with, much to Kumail’s displeasure.
As the two men have a heart-to-heart, Terry keeps spewing out love life advice which doesn’t make any sense. Finally, he admits love is hard “That’s why they call it love.” When Kumail says he doesn’t understand that either, Terry admits he just started talking and hoped something smart would come out.
Throw The Chalk At Jimmy
Romano’s sad-sack performance in the movie is so hilarious and one of the highlights of the film. Terry is always concerned with Emily and her condition, but he always finds time to complain about everything else in the world.
He explains to Kumail that his generation grew up without video games and could have fun with just a piece of chalk. They could play tic-tac-toe, hopscotch or “Throw the chalk at Jimmy.” When Kumail asks if there was an actual Jimmy, Terry says “Well I mean, there was no particular Jimmy. Whoever got hit with the chalk, he was the Jimmy.”
What’s My Stance On 9/11?
With Emily in the coma and Emily’s parents waiting in the hospital, the movie explores the “meet the parents” scenario but without the girlfriend to be the buffer. What results is a lot of uncomfortable conversations, leading to the biggest laugh in the movie.
Terry awkwardly brings up 9/11 when talking to Kumail and asks what his stance on it is. Kumail responds, “What’s my stance on 9/11? Oh um, anti. It was a tragedy, I mean we lost 19 of our best guys.” A hilarious, boundary-pushing line that is so hard not to laugh out loud at.
