Free Movie Friday Experience: The Big Sick
Photography by Grace Kinsman
Grace Kinsman, staff writer
As I sat in my seat on Friday night, anxiously waiting for The Big Sick to begin, a couple spoke to a PVCC student about the event. The couple were two Charlottesville residents who had just recently heard of the exciting Free Movie Friday. The excited student told the couple that the people packing the theater were a healthy mix of students, faculty and locals. I looked around the room and this appeared to be accurate. People of all ages came together on this Friday night to watch a great movie as a community.
On Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m., PVCC held a Free Movie Friday event featuring The Big Sick. When I entered the massive building, I was quickly greeted by a friendly man who was working the event.
The auditorium was clean and large. The seats were comfortable and allowed every person to see the screen clearly. The venue was equivalent to a local movie theatre that charges $13 a ticket. Before the movie had even begun, I knew that I would not be wasting my Friday night and that this event was going to be spectacular.
The Big Sick is one of the only movies that can make you cry not only from laughing, but also from the heartwarming scenes on the screen. The movie is a romance about a Pakistani man who falls in love with a white woman. In modern America, we think nothing of this, but the main character, Kumail, is part of a strict Islamic family. Kumail’s family believes only in arranged marriages and does not approve of him dating a white, American woman, Emily.
At first, Kumail listens to his family, but when Emily gets sick, he realizes that he is in love with her and tries to get her back. The remainder of the film shows Kumail and Emily eventually finding their way back together.
The movie was so great that someone watching might almost think they are part of the movie and not watching it through a screen, that is until the PVCC crowd roared with laughter whenever one of the characters delivered a hysterical line. The directors did a fabulous job of turning a true and uplifting story into a hilarious and entertaining movie .
