'The Big Sick' should make Kumail Nanjiani a legit movie star

Movie romances -- at least for me -- must always strain for an element of surprise. And films that involve a major character having an illness can also often be painfully predictable and manipulative.

The wonderful new comedy The Big Sick manages to tackle both without ever feeling too sentimental or treacly. Basically, it's really as good as all the hype you've heard.

And in the midst of winning over audiences with some big belly laughs and harsh truths about how hard it can be to be honest to the ones we love, The Big Sick also manages to make a movie star out of Kumail Nanjiani.

This shouldn't be a big deal but the fact is that American films almost never cast Southeast Asian men in leading roles and certainly not in romantic stories. Nanjiani is really the center of this film and instead of making him a Pakistani person divorced from his background, the movie chooses to show the complexity of his character's relationship with his culture.

The film is remarkably directed by The State alum Michael Showalter, who until now is probably best known for being one of the brains behind the incredibly surreal Wet Hot American Summer movies. I'm a big fan but I never knew he had a movie this warm-hearted and emotional in him.

Yes, The Big Sick is a about a relationship that gets tested by both health and other factors, but it's not a relentlessly bleak tearjerker or a trivial night out at the movies.

It feels very grounded and lowkey in the best way. The best lines and humor emerge from the very instinctual awkward moments in conversations.

And while the movie definitely has narrative momentum, it never feels rushed. Plot elements unfold and characters aren't left off the hook to easy when they make mistakes.

Nanjiani is brilliant throughout. He's funny both doing deadpan and manic comedy, but he handles the more intense scenes just as proficiently. And he's aided tremendously by a great supporting cast including Holly Hunter and a remarkable Ray Romano, who really almost steals the movie.

It's also a testament to the film that so many of the character parts are played so naturalistically that I actually wasn't sure if some of the performers were actors or the real-life people on which they are based. I knew going in that this film was based on Nanjiani's real-life relationship with his wife, although I'm not sure how closely.

Seeing as I know they are married now one would think that could deprive the movie of tension or suspense, but it doesn't. You just get swept up in the characters' story. And you like these people, there are no villains in this movie really, and so you grow to love these characters and you want to see them win.

The movie itself is definitely a winner. It's certainly the most effective and touching comedies I've seen in quite a while and with Nanjiani taking his act to the next level this could mean a very interesting career as a new breed of leading man.