Happy Valentine’s Day! This is a day for you to spend money on a person, go on dates, be romantic and watch movies. There is nothing better than cuddling on a couch watching something on your favorite streaming service. The question is, “what do we watch?” I suggest 2018’s The Big Sick.

Everybody knows what a rom-com is. They are usually repetitive. Sometimes they are not good. They usually involve a single woman and a dreamy guy. The woman receives advice from her friend who is trying to live vicariously through the main character. The guy and the girl start dating, things go well, then they argue and the climax of the movie takes place in an airport, with the woman chasing the guy before he gets on a plane to his new job in New York. The Big Sick isn’t like that.

The Big Sick is the true story about how stand-up comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani met his wife, Emily. They become overwhelmed with each other until she becomes sick. For half of the movie we spend time with Kumail and Emily as they fall in love. Around the halfway mark, Emily becomes sick and is hospitalized. We spend the rest of the movie with Kumail as he interacts with Emily’s family and we follow them through the trials of Emily’s sickness.

The movie does a great job of putting us in the middle of their relationship, which is incredibly believable. It had its ups and downs. The writing is really funny. There were moments that had me laughing out loud but there were also moments that had me tearing up. It has its moments of seriousness that didn’t take away from the story over all.

The acting is great. It is probably easy playing yourself, but Kumail does a really good job regardless. Zoe Kazan does an amazing job of portraying his wife. Emily’s parents, Kumail’s friends and his parents are all really good in their roles. The movie is about a couple who go through thunderstorms, rainbows and cloudy days.

TJ Pittinger is a freshman studying theology.