Kumail Nanjiani Compares ‘The Lovebirds’ to the Mystery & Hijinks of ‘The Thin Man’

The Lovebirds
Preview
Netflix

Roll out the red carpet! Another one of this season’s most anticipated movies is premiering in your living room rather than in theaters. The Lovebirds stars Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and Issa Rae (Insecure) as a couple who have had it with each other.

Leilani and Jibran (Rae and Nanjiani) are mid-breakup when they accidentally hit and injure a bicyclist with their car. The situation goes from bad to catastrophic when a man (Paul Sparks) who was chasing the bicyclist shows up and uses the couple’s car to turn him into roadkill.

Suddenly implicated in the murder, Jibran and Leilani spend a crazy night trying to clear their names — and falling in love again.

Nanjiani compares the madcap rom-com to 1934’s The Thin Man, with its blend of mystery and hijinks. “The key here is you need to have a couple that is fighting, but it’s gotta be fun to watch,” he says. “It’s gotta be funny, and you have to think under the vitriol that there’s still love.”

The Lovebirds

(Credit: Netflix)

So, could The Lovebirds help couples who have been sniping at each other during quarantine? “Man, that’s a lot of pressure!” Nanjiani jokes. “I hope maybe it will save a relationship for the hour and a half it takes to watch the movie.”

The Lovebirds, Streaming Now, Netflix