What sets the film apart is an oddness that could only have sprung from real life. That and sincerity, compassion, humanity.

After a slow start, the film gradually accumulates funny and surprising details, many of them surely drawn directly from life.

The film's message - that cultures are different but can coexist peacefully - is a welcome one in these riven times.

The Big Sick can confidently boast a self-evident punchline that lasts for over two hours and never runs out of the funny or the surprising.