You People

The black side actually aggravated me more than anything. I'm black and I was almost embarrassed. They just seem incredibly racist! For all that Jonah Hill's character tried to do, it just seems as if they couldn't acknowledge it. They didn't care. He was white and that was the problem. At one point I almost wanted to scream at the screen. As for the white family, or side of the family, they're ignorance, to me, was them just trying to make the girl feel welcomed, in their own misguided way. There were times when this movie actually became a tad bit painful to watch. I know they're supposed to be a moral to this, but this movie almost promoted racism. They, in my opinion, wanted to turn the white mom interest a "Karen" unfairly. I actually felt bad for her because she didn't realize what she was doing and it was brought to her attention in a horrible way. Also, I think Jonah Hill's character was much stronger than Lauren London's character, Amira.

Also, side note! It annoyed me that Eddie Murphy said the "N" word in every other sentence in this movie but took issue with white people. I've had I've always had an issue with this because I've just felt like if you don't like it being said, don't you say it..

In this film Jonah hill plays a character that is involved in "culture" but has the same interests and personality as a teenager, liking drake and sneakers worn by pretty much every young person everywhere. Eddie Murphy has a change of pace then the usual goofy character, but he has extremist views and in todays world it's plainly fine, if he had different colour skin I doubt it would have the same comedic affect. The film is about two different cultures coming together, however it's so obsessed with race issues it's seems to create more of a divide then a sense of coming together as one, I don't think I've watched a film where they compare black and white people so much, it did have some good laughs however and can be enjoyable for some.

It's very difficult to try to receive a film that collides not only two cultures, but four if we consider the religions of the characters. It's even more difficult when the viewer doesn't belong to any of the 4 cultures on display. And as if that were not enough, it's even more difficult when the tone of the film is a comedy that tries to speak supposed truths through the comic voice of Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy.

Everyone's speech feels forced, exaggerated and awkward and I think only the latter was intended. I find it one of the most uncomfortable movies to watch, but not only because of the cultural collision, but also because the characters were real idiots, including the leading couple. Everything would have been easier if they were in charge of the wedding themselves to avoid all the chaos generated by decisions that were made by people who were never supposed to have made them. Although without this, we would not have a movie either.

Now, it's not all bad. I like the aesthetics of the film, I like the cultural niche in which it's inserted, I like the directorial work behind the shots. I really hope to see reviews from moviegoers who do have a real sense of belonging in the social circles that are exposed in the film, because this would definitely be a much more valid opinion.

Let's face it: you can set a comedy in Los Angeles and it'll always achieve nominal success. A multicultural cast, socially relevant humor, cool music, drone shots and boom - that's a movie. There's something about palm trees and attractive people that'll never go out of style.

But this formula is beyond old. You have to have that thing that makes it stand out. Something fresh, something new under the sun. I'm not sure if it's the studios, writers or talent, but a major part of that team is resting on their laurels.

I loved the casting of old school comedic actors that are likely singing their swan song. The plot is tried and true, and it normally works. I just wish the filmmakers of You People did their homework to give us a film worthy of all their unorthodox comedic talents.

Too bad You People wouldn't make it into the 'staff picks' of a Thousand Oaks Blockbuster. How's that for old school and sarcastic?

Ezra Cohen (Jonah Hill) is a stockbroker who also runs a podcast with his best friend, Mo (Sam Jay), where the two discuss various facets of black culture (or "the culture" as Ezra calls it). Ezra is under pressure from his Jewish family particularly his mother Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to find a woman but Ezra has a streak of bad luck with his family's setups. Meanwhile costume designer Amira Mohammed (Lauren London) is also dealing with pressure from her opinionated father Akbar (Eddie Murphy) a devout Black Muslim. When Ezra and Amira have a chance encounter they eventually start a relationship until after some time Ezra intends to propose to Amira, but the two's families prove to be a massive obstacle.

You People is a new romantic comedy directed and co-written by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and co-written and starring Jonah Hill. The movie features an impressive cast with the likes of Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nia Long, and Deavid Duchovny among several others, and from the marketing you'd probably expect a modern update the framework established by Guess Who's Coming to Dinner with its potentially rich premise of a Jewish family and Black Muslim family creating friction with one another over an incoming wedding, unfortunately while You People has a potentially rich and provocative setup, its payoff feels like a tired rehash of the Fockers films or 2005's Guess Who? With little more brought to the table than an R-rating.

On a positive note, I will say that Hill and London have decent chemistry in their scenes together and on occasion there is an awkward laugh to be taken from individual exchanges in the film, but for the most part the movie doesn't feel like it has a developed cast of characters with most of the talented expanded cast playing very broad one note at best or are given the short shrift at worst. Poor David Duchovny is saddle with a terrible running gag about him going on shpiel's about Xzibit and Elliott Gould is given one line and spends most his presence in the background doing nothing most of the time. Eddie Murphy is also saddled with a role that doesn't play to his strengths as Akbar is a very serious and stoic man who isn't funny or interesting because he's been force to subdue his charisma and he really only comes to life in the role in the last 10 minutes. A large chunk of the movie is an endless parade of scenes where either Ezra or his parents make fools of themselves giving rambling unsolicited commentary on race relations and there's very few scenes where people talk like human beings and these segments are just variations on the same point repeatedly. The movie is also way too long at just under two hours and it feels its length.

You People had a lot of promise as a comedy, but it just does not work at all and most of the best scenes are in the trailer with the rest of the movie an overlong slog that struggles to keep itself going. Sometimes the cast do get a mild snicker from certain exchanges, but not really enough to justify a viewing. Maybe if someone like Jerrod Carmichael had tapped into this kind of material (see On the Count of Three or The Carmichael Show for proof) then maybe something of substance could've been done with it, but as is, it's a mediocre comedy that feels like 2005's Guess Who? With an R-rating.