You People Review: A Modern Culture Clash And A Mildly Charming Romantic Comedy
We are now nearly sixty years removed from the culture-clash drama "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner," in which the interracial romance between a Black man and a white woman comes under the microscope primarily courtesy of the white woman's parents. But the potential tensions of an interracial romance haven't dissipated too much in the 2020s — if the new Netflix film "You People" is any indication, the tensions have only increased. Though "You People" goes beyond the "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner"-style setup fairly quickly, it's also intended to explore whether or not interracial romances can work now, especially if the parents of those involved are able to get over their own stereotypes and biases. Parts of "You People" inspire big laughs, but parts of it fall flat and/or end up feeling a bit like a mixed-media lecture.
"You People," directed and co-written by Kenya Barris of "Black-ish," is nothing if not boasting a massively impressive ensemble. Jonah Hill (who also co-wrote) serves as the lead, Ezra Cohen. Ezra works a dull finance job in Los Angeles, but his real passion is a podcast he co-hosts with Mo (Sam Jay) in which they mine the differences between their respective racial heritages. One day, Ezra has a chance meeting with Amira (Lauren London), who he mistakes for his Uber driver; despite their different backgrounds, Ezra and Amira quickly fall for each other. The problem, then, is their parents — Ezra's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny) try very hard to be accepting but can't hide their largesse or how even the Jewish experience differs from the Black experience. And Amira's parents (Eddie Murphy and Nia Long) are instantly baffled and disturbed by the awkward and desperate-to-please Ezra. The two sets of parental figures only create rifts for Ezra and Amira, even as they plan their wedding.
The amount of comic talent in "You People" — even on the periphery, with cameos from figures like Elliott Gould, Deon Cole, and Anthony Anderson — is remarkable. And certain sequences are particularly funny, less because of Hill and Barris' script and more because actors like Murphy and Louis-Dreyfus are so innately talented that they make even duller material pop. Having Eddie Murphy do even a brief riff on the tough-dad-style character from big comedies like "Meet the Parents" is all but guaranteed to work, simply because ... well, he's Eddie Murphy. And having him opposite Hill works very well, even as the character dynamics steer us toward a predictable conclusion in which Ezra pushes back on how hard-as-nails his prospective father-in-law is. The same is true of Louis-Dreyfus, whose character approaches the painfully obnoxious while still being funny (in her first scene with Amira, she "opens it up to the group" about thoughts on police brutality).
Veering away from humor in the back half
"You People" has a number of solid if familiar-seeming comic setups: the awkwardness of the first joint family dinner, the squirm-inducing scene where Ezra tries to get Amira's parents' blessing for proposing marriage, a scene where Amira's dad worms his way into Ezra's bachelor party, etc. Where "You People" sometimes struggles is in its payoffs. The setups are all solid, and the performers are engaged enough with the material. But too often, the setups lead nowhere. One early example comes when Amira reveals that she hasn't told her parents that her new boyfriend is White, even suggesting that he's Muslim to appease her father; the next time we see her dad, he's meeting Ezra at lunch, with nary a word about how his daughter misled him. And during that joint family dinner, when Amira's parents explain their affinity for Minister Louis Farrakhan, Ezra's mother is able to briefly note her awareness of his comments about Jewish people (in a way that makes it very clear she can't stand the man), before the scene veers elsewhere.
"You People" is, at its core, still a romantic comedy. This is, perhaps, a certain way to say that the film veers towards the predictable more than anything else. There are tense moments for Ezra and Amira, ones in which it becomes clear that their romance may be rent asunder by their parents. But whatever satiric bent Hill and Barris may have as writers, they're not able to avoid the predictability of where just about all romantic comedies wind up. That "You People" is familiar in that sense isn't automatically a bad thing, but so often, the film feels like it's tip-toeing to the edge of something sharper and more realistic before backing into something akin to a riff from a Judd Apatow movie, as when Ezra and Amira are met with dueling wedding planners, one played by Cole proposing a "Tron"-themed ceremony.
From its title to aspects of its production, you get the sense that "You People" toys with the idea of being as spiky and feisty as some of its scenes. Relative to some other Netflix Originals, as well as some other recent romantic comedies, this movie has some pretty solid laughs. But there are a number of moments in this new film where the script backs away from being more provocative or difficult. It's a shame too because the cast (Hill included) seem able and willing even if the material doesn't always want to take the same plunge.
/Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10