This is an American independent film that was a recommendation from our cinephile friend, an unusual one for him as it falls square into the romantic comedy genre. What sets it apart is its interracial pairing, a Pakistani man and a white American girl, which even in our enlightened times is probably still worth a raised eyebrow.
Kumail was born in Pakistan and brought to the United States to live as a child. While his devout, traditional Muslim clearly prefers that he pursue a professional career, Kumail is trying his best to make it as a stand-up comic instead and supplements his income by being an Uber driver. One night during a show, he chats up Emily, a white woman who is studying to be a therapist. A one-night-stand turns into a longer term relationship but Kumail is unable to make a serious commitment as he knows his parents would disapprove and he hides the fact that he is dating a white woman even as his mother attempts to matchmake him with multiple Muslim women of Pakistani origin. After they break up however Emily becomes seriously ill and Kumail feels obligated to help care for her even after her parents arrive to take charge of the situation.
As I noted, the interracial pairing is the highlight of the film and it’s nice that it’s at least partly autobiographical being based on the lives of writers Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani who are married in real life. Kumail plays himself here but the role of Emily is played by Zoe Kazan. The film’s handling of the couple’s vastly different backgrounds is adroit with it simply not being an issue at all most of the time for Kumail and Emily. Similarly Kumail’s friends accept him as one of their own with no commentary needed. When other people bring it up as an issue, Kumail tends it to diffuse it with humor in a non-confrontational way. Kumail’s interactions with his family are fascinating to watch as well though I’m leery that Pakistani-Americans are truly as conservative as what is shown here and the bevy of beauties that Kumail’s mother presents to him is unrealistic. As Emily observes, it looks like he is serving as a judge for a Miss Pakistan pageant.
Unfortunately the relationship is somewhat lacking in passion. Kumail’s diffident personality, using humor to sidestep conflict, and his continued insistence that this is just a temporary hook-up isn’t exactly a winning formula for romance even if it feels suitably hip and modern. It’s also rather hard to have much on-screen chemistry when Emily is unconscious for half of the film, leaving Kumail to interact with her parents instead. I was also disappointed that Kumail’s confrontation with his family feels so weak in that his parents weren’t allowed to offer a reasonably robust defence of their customs. I suppose part of the appeal of this film in the US is that it has been a long time since parental approval was much of an obstacle to romance but here in Asia it’s still a familiar enough trope that it doesn’t feel as fresh.
On the whole I would say that this is a solid romantic comedy and it’s true that there seems to be a dearth of entries in the genre in recent years. I liked how it presents American Muslims in a mostly positive light even if it cheats a bit by making Kumail not really a Muslim any longer. However it isn’t anything that is truly exceptional so it won’t be a film to remember.