Better Late than Never on "The Big Sick"

I am finally getting caught up on TV shows and movies that I have meant to see, and I finally saw one of the movies that I really wanted to see it the theaters. That movie is "The Big Sick".  

I am a big Kumail Nanjiani fan. I love him as Dinesh on "Silicon Valley", I love his bit roles in some good and not so good movies and I have been a fan of his standup from day one. When I heard about this movie that he and his wife wrote, loosely based on their relationship, I was intrigued. Then, the movie got big time buzz when it was screened at a bunch of different festivals. Everyone was saying that they loved it. The movie sold after the Sundance Film Festival I believe, for somewhere in the 12 million dollar range. That is enormous for a movie that is basically an independent movie. This made me want to see the movie even more. Then the critical buzz came, and it was nothing but shine. Pretty much every critic found something to like about this movie. I do not usually care what critics say, but when a movie gets somewhere in the high 90's percent critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, that makes me think it is a movie worth checking out. I could not see it in the theaters, family and kid stuff got in the way. But, I finally saw it when it was released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

This movie is everything that the critics and the fans said it was. I love this movie so much. It is so touching and funny and sad and just perfect. This is a true star turning role for Kumail Nanjiani. He owns this movie. He is playing himself, but he brings such great emotion, perfect comic timing and just controls everything that this movie is supposed to be. It helps that he co wrote it, but damn it, was he great. Zoe Kazan, playing his now wife Emily, is just as good. She could have come off as a clichéd type love interest, but she is not. She is just as powerful and moving and funny, all the way up to when she is put in a coma. For those of you that don't know, Kumail met his wife Emily at a comedy club, they struck up a romance, broke up due to cultural stuff and then she got sick and was put in a medically induced coma. That is what "The Big Sick" is about. I'll touch more on the plot in a moment. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter are tremendous as Emily's folks. Holly Hunter is the fiery southerner who will do anything to get her daughter healthy. Ray Romano is great as the quieter, but can also be fiery, dad that has a troubled past. They are tremendous actors to begin with, and that shows in this movie. Kumail's family, Anupam Kher plays his dad and Zenobia Shroff plays his mom and Adeel Akhtar play his brother, are all wonderful. Every time that Kumail's mom brings an Indian woman over to meet Kumail, it is funny and awkward. Kumail's dad is a bit softer on him, but he still wants his son to be a faithful Muslim. Kumail's brother is hilarious. Every line he talks is so funny and witty and just perfect. As far as the other standouts from the movie, I love Aidy Bryant, Bo Burnham and Kurt Brauholer. They all play Kumail's friends that perform at stand up clubs in Chicago, in hopes of getting into the Montreal Comedy Festival. They each bring a different character to their roles, and they all nail it. Kurt Brauholer is truly wonderful as the comic that just shouldn't be doing standup.

Getting to the plot, "The Big Sick" is a great, modern love story about family and culture. It is amazing to me that people from Pakistan still believe in arraigned marriage. It was amazing to see Kumail express to his parents how he thinks this is not for him. To watch their disappointment, but then acceptance, is truly wonderful. To see the beginning, middle, break and reuniting of Kumail and Emily is so great, sad, funny and perfect. This movie perfectly captures what a new romance for people in their mid to late 20's is about. The stuff in the hospital, and at Emily and Kumail's apartments, with Kumail and Emily's parents is just awesome. Their distance, then getting close to each other is so great. Watching a boyfriend and the girlfriend's parents going through this horrific event is masterfully done in this movie.

"The Big Sick" is amazing. I really think everyone should see it. It is a movie that could have been ripe with clichés, but Emily Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani and Michael Showalter, the director, wouldn't allow that to happen. They are too talented for that. This movie is really, really good and my only gripe, I wish I had seen it sooner. I hope this brings on bigger and better things for Kumail, I guess it has, he just hosted "SNL", and Emily Gordon, because they deserve it. Watch this movie, it is a must see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He had some cultural differences when he was dating his wife. She came from a culture where she was good looking, and he came from one where he was ugly. They worked their way through the differences.

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Ty Watches "Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later"

As I promised on a recent podcast, I did finish all of "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later" this past weekend. I may not have mentioned it as a show that I was looking forward to, but believe me, I was highly anticipating this release. I was able to watch the first episode last Friday when it was released, then I watched 2 on Saturday, and finished the final 5 on Sunday.

It was great. I loved it. I was predestined to love it. I'm a fan of the movie, and I adored the prequel, "WHAS: First Day of Camp". I love how oddball and goofy the show and movie were/are. It is like classic oddball comedy. Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain are perfect at making this type of comedy. They all wrote, with help for some other writers, and I think that I am correct in assuming that David Wain directed all the episodes.

If I had one gripe about "WHAS: Ten Years Later", it would be that it was too short. But, the same can be said for "First Day of Camp". I think they only do 8 30 minute episodes on purpose. It makes the fans want more and more. I have already gone back and started "First Day of Camp" again. I'm also going to be watching the movie again, and after that, I will revisit "Ten Years Later". I just love how off the wall everything is. I think it is great that in "Ten Years Later" all the main actors keep saying that they are "in their mid 20's". It is so obvious that they're much older, but that adds to the allure of the comedy of the show.

The main cast is all there, with one exception. Paul Rudd, Zak Orth, Janeane Garrofolo, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Jon Benjamin, Nina Hellman, Marguerite Moreau, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Marissa Ryan, AD Miles, Elizabeth Banks, Christopher Meloni, Amy Poehler, they are all there. Bradley Cooper couldn't be in this due to a scheduling conflict. To combat this, they got Adam Scott to play the role of Ben, and they kept talking about how no one would notice him due to his "nose job". It was played for a great amount of laughs. In "Ten Years Later", they also had some of the people from "First Day of Camp" back. Camp Tiger Claw's residents, played by Rich Sommer, Eric Nenninger, Josh Charles and Kristen Wiig were all there, and all high falutant, what with their popped collars, scarves and fancy clothes.

There were some "new" characters introduced as well. Sarah Burns and Mark Feuerstein played campers Claire and Mark. What I loved about their additions was, any time they flashed back to the movie, they had scenes placed in that showed that these 2 were at the camp. It was so funny how bad, on purpose, it looked. Samm Levine showed up as the camp's radio host all grown up, Arty. He sounds just like the original actor, but this time, he had a real radio show. Alyssa Milano was great as Renatta, Ben and McKinley's nanny. She was psychotic and very funny, and there was a big twist with her, but I do not want to spoil much. Lake Bell returned, and her character Donna and Yaron(David Wain), are now married and looking for a surrogate. That is another great bit I do not want to spoil. Maya Erskine has a great role as Coop's fiancé. Jai Courtney was awesome as Susie's love interest/movie star co worker. John Early, who I become more and more a fan of every time I see him in something, is hysterical in his return as Logan. Side note, his shirt may be one of the best things in this whole series. Jason Schwartzman and Chris Pine return, and they are now government made killing machines. That is the only spoiler I will give with their characters. They are also hilarious, especially Pine. Skyler Gisondo, as basically the new Andy, is funny as hell. His showdown in the "King of Camp" competition with Andy is excellent.

All those names I mentioned should be enough alone for people to tune in. There are some big names in Hollywood, and some big names for comedy fans. The premise this season is about growing up and still being unsure of what to do with your life. I loved how well their professional careers were going yet they still needed to get back to their summer camp reunion that they planned 10 years earlier. All of the revels when they showed up to camp were great, but Poehler's was the best. Elizabeth Banks had a great scene too, when she finally showed up 12 hours late. Andy's journey was hilarious. The back and forth between Susie and Logan was tremendous. Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter playing dual roles as McKinley/George HW Bush and Coop/Ronald Reagan, was riotous. Jon Benjamin as Mitch, the can of vegetables was awesome. Coop and Katie's relationship throughout was wonderful, and very reminiscent of the movie. Even David Hyde Pierce's 2 minute scene was worth the wait.

Look, I am going to love anything that has to do with "WHAS". It was a classic movie, and "First Day of Camp", and now "Ten Years Later" have only added to the lore. I hope, and I think, they will do more stuff like this. They left it very open ended, and if everyone involved is willing to continue to do these, I do not see why this wouldn't be a viable show for, at least 2 or even 3 more series like these. "Ten Years Later" was awesome, and I highly recommend everyone checking it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is hoping the success of "Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later" will lead to "Saved By the Bell: The College Years: 10 Years Later". That will be awesome.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Search Party"

Today I want to write about a new show that I am really enjoying right now. That show is "Search Party" on TBS.

I had heard a lot of things about this show because I am a Michael Showalter fan. He created one of my all-time favorite movies, "Wet Hot American Summer", he put out the "prequel" to that great movie on Netflix a few years ago, "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp", he directed the wonderful "Hello My Name is Doris", and now he has "Search Party". He is clicking on all levels as a creative artist right now. He had one of the best binge-worthy shows that has even been put on Netflix. "Hello My Name is Doris" is not only an indie darling, but is even getting some early Oscar buzz, mainly Sally Field. And now, he has a great episodic show on national TV. He can do no wrong right now.

As I said, I heard a lot about this show before it came out, and everything I heard about it, it made me want to watch it that much more. I was excited to hear that it wasn't going to be a straight forward, goofy comedy like much of Showalter's stuff. He proved that he could do some different things with "Doris", and he is putting that to use on "Search Party". Now, that is not to say that this show does not have comedic moments, because it has a lot of them. There are times that I have laughed out loud while watching. But, each comedic moment is met with moments of clarity, sadness, self reliance, drama and intrigue.

"Search Party" is about a group of over privileged, hipster kids that live in New York. They have little to nothing going on in their lives, although they act much more important than they really are. They are kids born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and it shows. But, the main character Dory(Alia Shawkat), sees a missing person photo on the street in the pilot episode, and we come to realize she recognizes the girl from college. They weren't necessarily friends, but Dory has memories of her. She meets up with her core group of friends, her boyfriend Drew(John Reynolds), Portia(Meredith Hanger) and Elliot(John Early) to tell them the news, but it is met with deaf ears. Dory's friends either don't care, or are way too interested in their own stuff to feign interest in their missing college "friend". But, Dory cannot shake it. She now feels like she needs to find her old college acquaintance. There are a lot of reasons she makes for wanting to find their friend, but it mainly seems like she doesn't have a lot going on in her life. She is bored and tired of the hipster scene and she wants something that will make her feel important. She actually acts kind of selfish in her quest to find Chantal(Clare McNulty). She becomes singularly focused on this search, putting everything else on hold.

Alia Shawkat is tremendous in this show. I know it may sound like I think she is kind of selfish, but that is just her character. Shawkat has been in a lot of stuff, and has been pretty good in her minor rolls, but this is a great vehicle for her as far as starring roles go. She shines as Dory. She is so, so good on this show. I have become a big Alia Shawkat fan during the run of this show. But, the three other friends are great as well. John Reynolds as Drew, Dory's woebegone boyfriend, is excellent. He plays a total pushover with no backbone really well. He is at Dory's beck and call and does anything she asks him. But, he also has heart and soul, and you begin to feel for him when Dory, or anyone else for that matter, starts to go off on him. Meredith Hanger as Portia is perfect as the pretty blonde actress that wants so badly for everyone to like her, but also be proud of her and her career choice. She is an actress, but she is a very mediocre actress that plays small roles on corny crime procedurals. She works hard on her show, but outside of that, she is self-involved and careless. But, she does have moments when she seems to be a caring, loyal friend. She wants to believe that Dory has seen Chantal, she goes to weird parties with her and she genuinely cares for Dory's safety when Dory goes out to do PI work.

Then there is John Early as Elliot. He is so god damn good on this show. Early was excellent on "Wet Hot: First Day of Camp", but man oh man, is he awesome on "Search Party". He is so funny, he has so many skeletons in his closet, he is constantly making up and breaking up with his boyfriend, in very comedic ways and he has a terrible secret that he has kept since he was a teenager. Early has taken the direction to be a New York hipster to the absolute perfect point. He is so douchey and self-involved, and I couldn't love his character more. He is the second best person on this show, next to Shawkat.

There have been some great recurring characters played by some big name people as well. Christine Ebersol is great as Portia's mom that doesn't give her enough attention. Rosie Perez is really good as a crazy lady that claims she has seen Chantal as well, when her and Dory meet for the first time. Christine Taylor is so awesome as Dory's boss, who lives in a whole different world than everyone else on this show. Tunde Adebimpe, as the leader of some weird cult that may or may have some kind of involvement in Chantal going missing, is both mean, but also very funny. Then there is Ron Livingston as the PI that follows, then eventually hires Dory to work with him to find her friend.

"Search Party" is a really good show. All ten episodes were shown in 5 days, 2 episodes a day, and they are all on TV for your viewing pleasure right now. I have watched 7 episodes so far, I will be finishing it this afternoon, and I cannot wait to see how it all ends. Obviously I recommend this show. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He loves new and interesting television, tell him about a show you like. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty is pumped for "Wet Hot American Summer" series.

Does this show have horsemen too?

In 2001 a movie called "Wet Hot American Summer" was released to very little fanfare.

The movie was panned by critics and made a very small amount of money at the box office. I don't remember seeing any previews for it and I saw little to no press before it was released. It just kind of came and went and I assume most people forgot about it.  

About two years later a friend of mine told me I had to see this movie she just saw called "Wet Hot American Summer" She said it was so bizarre and hilarious, and she knew that I liked wacky, humorous movies. I remember thinking, oh yeah I've heard of that movie, I thought it was supposed to be pretty bad. She told me to give it a chance, that she was sure I'd love it.

Boy oh boy do I love that movie. It was so off the wall and different than any movie I'd seen before. It was on the same level as "Pootie Tang" for me. I knew, after watching it, why critics may have not liked it so much. Critics, for the most part, are crotchety old men that usually only like documentaries and dramas. So, a ridiculous movie like "Wet Hot", they went into giving it no chance and decided before it even started that they hated it. I couldn't disagree more. This movie is a genuine "cult classic". I have friends strictly based on them knowing lines from the movie. That's how our friendships started.

"Wet Hot American Summer" was also the first place I saw actors who I love today. I had never heard of, or at least they didn't make any lasting impressions on me until after this movie, people like Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter, Bradley Cooper, Margarite Mareau, Michael Ian Black, Christopher Meloni and Molly Shannon. Judah Friedlander had a small, but very memorable part in the movie. In fact, the only two actors I truly knew were David Hyde Pierce and Jeanane Garafelo. They are excellent in this movie. The pure silliness and goofiness with which this movie was acted, written and directed with could only be done by David Wain. I, for the most part, have liked all of his movies, my favorite being "Role Models".

"Wet Hot" is great for someone that likes off the wall silliness in their movies. These guys do it to perfection. This movie should be shown in film schools, to show students how to truly make comedic movies. Another hilarious thing that I love about it, the actors playing the counselors and workers at Camp Firewood are much to old to be playing the age of their characters. This was obviously done on purpose because it's hilarious. I cannot say enough good things about it, "Wet Hot" is great.

Which brings me to what I'm truly writing about today, July 31st 2015. Netflix announced months ago that they were in contact with the original writers of "Wet Hot" on possibly doing a prequel movie or series. All of the fans hoped for a series because it meant that we'd get at least four new hours of "Wet Hot". Our dreams were met when they announced that they would do 8, thirty minutes episodes on Netflix. You can stream them right now and watch all 8 in a row if you want to. The only reason I haven't watched it yet is, I have a three year old and I'm a stay at home dad. My job is to watch him, but he's about to go down for a nap and I know exactly what I will be doing for the rest of my day. It doesn't hurt that all the original cast members are back for the prequel, but they've also added some more big time names like, Jason Schwartzman, Kristen Wiig, and Jon Hamm. Most of the people involved with the movie are huge stars now, yet they wanted to come back and do this show. That should tell you how good it is going to be. The addition of some major stars show how much people adore the "Wet Hot" movie. I'm so pumped to watch and 2 pm central time can't come soon enough. As I said, all eight episodes are currently streaming on Netflix, so you can watch it right now.

In fact, I'm probably going to move nap time up to right now so I can watch. Enjoy it everybody.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing. If the show is that good, he may have to extend nap time. Follow him on twitter @tykulik