The Big Sick appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a competent but not great image.
Most of the movie displayed positive clarity and delineation, but some exceptions occurred. Occasional wide shots appeared a little softer than expected; those were infrequent, but they did come along for the ride.
Jagged edges and moiré effects failed to appear, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also stayed away from this clean image.
In terms of palette, Sick went with a mix of teal and orange. These choices seemed unimpressive but the image reproduced them well.
Blacks showed good depth, while low-light shots could be a bit dense. Those weren’t bad shots, but they seemed a little darker than anticipated. This was a “B” image.
Don’t expect much more than a standard comedy mix from the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, as the audio tended to be pretty restrained, so we didn’t get a lot of involvement and activity. This was fine for a movie of this sort, however, so the low-key soundfield wasn’t a detriment. Club and street scenes broadened a bit, but the scope stayed restrained.
Audio quality was perfectly acceptable. Speech showed nice clarity and naturalism, and music was reasonably distinctive and dynamic.
Effects lacked much to stand out, but they appeared accurate, and they showed mild punch when necessary. All of this seemed good enough for a “B-“.
When we move to extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Michael Showalter, producer Barry Mendel, writer/actor Kumail Nanjiani and writer Emily V. Gordon. All four sit together for this running, screen-specific look at the facts behind the fiction and story/characters, sets and locations, music, cast and performances, editing and cut sequences, and connected domains.
The commentary focuses more on the creative side of the film than the technical, so don’t expect much in terms of nuts and bolts details. We do get a very nice view of the narrative and acting decisions made, though, and the participants even spill “dirt” about some conflicts on the set. I’d like a little more about the real-life Nanjiani/Gordon relationship, but this still becomes a very good chat.
A few video programs ensue, and these start with A Personal Journey: The Making of The Big Sick. It runs 14 minutes, 49 seconds and offers comments from Nanjiani, Gordon, Showalter, Mendel, producer Judd Apatow and actors Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher and Holly Hunter.
“Journey” goes over the project’s origins and development, Showalter’s approach to the material, cast and performances. Some of the material repeats from the commentary, but most of it’s new, so we find a nice overview.
During The Real Story, we find a seven-minute, 11-second chat with Nanjiani and Gordon. They discuss aspects of their relationship and elements reflected in the film. It’s a decent overview, but it could be more detailed.
A 2017 SXSW Panel takes up 11 minutes, 32 seconds and features Nanjiani, Gordon, Mendel, and Apatow. They cover development, the film’s depiction of Muslims, the mix of fact and fiction, cast and performances, and Apatow’s influence. The panel delivers a pretty engaging series of comments.
The Big Sick: The Other Stuff goes for three minutes, 47 seconds. It shows alternate/cut lines – these aren’t long enough to qualify as deleted scenes, but they offer some fun material.
Eight Deleted Scenes occupy a total of 10 minutes, six seconds. In these, we tend to get a mix of comedic character bits. Nothing important arises, but we find some moderately amusing snippets.
With The Bigger Sick, we find a 10-minute, 25-second reel that shows snippets from a movie-related promotional tour that featured Nanjiani, Gordon, Apatow, Romano, Hunter, Kazan and actors Aidy Bryant and Kurt Braunohler. It turns into a fairly enjoyable piece.
The disc opens with ads for The Wall, Manchester By the Sea, How to Be a Latin Lover, The Glass Castle and A Ghost Story. No trailer for Sick appears here.
A second disc presents a DVD copy of Sick. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.
At times, The Big Sick manages to deliver an entertaining mix of comedy and drama. However, too much of it drags, and it suffers from a void at its top. The Blu-ray presents mostly good picture and audio along with a nice set of supplements. Sick finds itself as an up and down film.