Movie Review: You People
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Kenya Barris’ sitcom Black-ish was renowned for its ability to tackle questions about race in a format usually reserved for 30-minute family shenanigans. Its best episodes were unafraid to drop the laughs while unflinchingly discussing important issues. So, it’s disappointing that You People, Barris’ feature directorial debut, too often feels like a preachy, overlong sitcom.
Jonah Hill co-wrote the script with Barris and stars as Ezra, an L.A stockbroker whose real dream is to go big with the podcast he co-hosts with best friend Mo (Sam Jay). Ezra’s Jewish, but he’s more comfortable discussing the Black movies, music, and culture he grew up loving. When he meets costume designer Amira (Lauren London), he finds someone he instantly feels seen by, and it’s not long before the two start talking marriage. The only obstacle? Their parents, specifically Ezra’s mother Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), whose attempts at wokeness are patronizing and tone deaf, and Amira’s father Akbar (Eddie Murphy), who was raised on the words of Malcolm X and is dismayed when he learns his daughter is dating a white man.
In a post-Trump world, as America’s racial divide only grows more prominent, movies that discuss prejudice, culture, and identity are necessary, and Barris proved with Black-ish that he could commingle laughs and serious discussion. You People deals with interesting issues, such as cultural appropriation and whether an intense focus on identity might make us blind to the humanity of others. It’s most interesting when it observes how Millennials like Ezra and Amira may best appreciate diversity and the richness other cultures bring to their lives, while older generations tend to entrench and further isolate themselves.
But while Barris’ use of uncomfortable conversations was a potent infusion in sitcoms, the conversations feel overly didactic when stretched to feature length. Scenes turn into lectures; characters become ciphers. Important issues are brought up and then dropped. Other times, the film turns into a long collection of pratfalls and gags in which Shelley sticks her foot in her mouth and Akbar glowers. While the film’s R-rated language, hip-hop soundtrack, and quick editing try to convey an edgy feel, only a few moments feel potent, and the film largely uses cultural tension to deliver yet another variation on Meet the Parents.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. You People works best when it’s just allowed to be a romantic comedy. Hill and London have genuine chemistry, and they’re the only two characters allowed to behave like real people, getting frustrated and exasperated, sometimes laughing it off and other times wondering whether it will spell the end of their relationship. They have a sweet love story, and it’s easy to imagine this film working better had the script pulled back on the preaching and allowed the conversations about race to occur more organically, instead of being delivered by cringe-laced caricatures.
Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill in “You People.” Photo by Parrish Lewis/Netflix © 2023 – © 2023 Netflix, Inc.
That’s not to slight Murphy and Louis-Dreyfus, whose previous work earns that over-sized spotlight. Louis-Drefyus can do awkward or acid-tongued line deliveries better than almost anyone, and Murphy has a knack for eliciting laughs through intimidation. A scene in which Shelley and Akbar go toe to toe over the suffering experienced by the Jewish and Black community is as close as the movie comes to feeling provocative and energetic. But more often, the two are relegated to playing over-sized obstacles to the main romance, with the racial politics setting up conflict but never exploring it with any meaningful insight. There’s a drawn-out sequence where Shelley embarrasses herself by perceiving racism at a spa and then causes tension at Amira’s bachelorette party; it’s paralleled by a sequence in which Akbar tries to intimidate Ezra with a trip to the inner-city, and another where he stares in judgement during a bachelor party. But the scenes aren’t funny; they set up tension but never dive into or wrestle with it (the less said about Nia Long and David Duchovny, who are wasted as Akbar and Shelley’s respective spouses, the better).
You People mostly wavers between being a heavy-handed examination of race in America and a fitfully effective romantic comedy. It’s watchable, mainly because of its talented cast and some of Barris’ admittedly funny jokes. But the film deflates in its final twenty minutes, surrendering any pretense of a real conversation to a pat resolution that feels beneath the talents and convictions of its cast. Instead of suggesting that the characters can live and love while still wrestling with hard truths, it settles for the “love overcomes all” resolution, complete with dance party. Murphy and Louis-Dreyfus look embarrassed to offer their supposedly heartwarming platitudes and apologies, while Hill and London are given a happy ending that shakes off any previous discomfort. It’s a disappointingly false note for a movie that prides itself for keeping it real, and makes You People a disappointing comedy and missed opportunity.
