Known for mining deep family and societal issues through tv comedies (Black-ish), Kenya Barris makes a strong debut as a film director with You People.
The premise centers around a budding romance between Ezra played by Jonah Hill and Amira played by Lauren London. Ezra is a Jewish, white man and Amira is a Muslim, Black woman. In spite of their different backgrounds, the relationship works for Ezra and Amira but is tested when interacting with their families.
Barris and Hill’s brilliant script mines comedic diamonds out of a well-worn premise that has been around since Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner from the ’60s. You People‘s script is bolstered by a sensational supporting cast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ezra’s mother and Eddy Murphy as Amira’s father taking on the antagonist roles.
After a string of dramatic roles, it’s nice seeing Hill take the lead in a comedy again. You People makes terrific use of his comedic timing. Finding the humor in the most awkward of scenarios and serving as a comedic punching bag both suit Hill as a comedy lead.
Murphy also shines bright as the Akbar. He’s the disapproving, future father-in-law who puts Ezra through the wringer. Louis-Dreyfus is perfect as Shelley. She seems to accept Amira right away and is thrilled over Ezra dating a black woman. However, Shelley’s racism and Akbar’s anti-semitism become apparent during one of the most uncomfortable dinner scenes in recent memory.
The bachelor and bachelorette parties drag the film’s pacing a little bit. The chemistry between Hill and Sam Jay who plays Ezra’s best friend and podcast cohost is terrific. However, her influence sadly diminishes as the film goes along. Ezra’s younger sister is a lesbian, but You People doesn’t really explore what that means in a Jewish family.
Overall, the nearly perfect first hour and last ten minutes of You People lead to one of the most refreshing romantic comedies in several years.
With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in this all-star comedy. There may be some minor spoilers. You People is available to stream on Netflix.
Finding the Real in You People
You People does a great job of showing the influence Akbar and Shelley have over their children’s lives before Ezra and Amira meet. Ezra is at synagogue with his father played by David Duchovny, mother and sister. After the service, Ezra is offered unsolicited advice by a slew of people, which includes one man making sexual advances toward Ezra. Ezra rejects all of these. Shelley brushes off all of Ezra’s complaints and sets her son up with a woman at the temple.
Meanwhile, Amira dumps a guy who takes her father’s advice. The guy uses a quote from Akbar to try to win Amira back, but she turns him down.
Amira meets Ezra after Ezra mistakes her for an Uber driver. She gets lost driving around town. Amira lays into Ezra over him believing all black women look the same. Turns out, in this instance, Ezra was innocent. Ezra offers to provide turn-by-turn directions and the relationship grows from there.
Hill and London have great chemistry together. Plus, Barris and Hill’s smart script succeeds in making Amira and Ezra a couple worth supporting
Meet the Parents
Amira meets Ezra’s parents first. Arnold, Ezra’s father, and Shelley make the event just awkward enough. Arnold is the type of white man who compares a real black person to a celebratory. For example, Arnold compliments Amira on her braids, then immediately says Xzibit had braids. Arnold’s ignorance is played mostly for comedy, but also reveals a similar trait of his wife, Shelley. Neither can admit when they’re uncomfortable or uninformed.
Ezra is shocked when Shelley says Amira is terrific. Her racism really comes to the surface during the dinner scene and in her interactions with Akbar.
After the awkward dinner, Ezra meets Amira’s parents for the first time. Ezra arranges to meet them at Roscoe’s. Ezra inviting Amira’s parents to a chicken and waffle restaurant is horrifying on its own. You People double down on the awkward setting with an even more baffling conversation. There’s a brilliant setup early in the film where Ezra’s inability to start a conversation is revealed. He can’t string together a coherent thought. Eventually, he asks Akbar for permission to marry his daughter. Akbar tells Ezra he can try.
Amira is horrified by Ezra’s decision. However, his clumsy proposal overcomes her anger. With wedding plans on the horizon, it’s time for Ezra and Amira’s parents to meet.
The Roscoe scene is one of the most cringe-inducing scenes I’ve seen in a film in a long time. As bad as a white man taking a black mother and father to Roscoe’s to ask for their daughter’s hand in marriage is, the dinner scene easily surpasses it as the most awkward scene in You People.
Dinner Disaster
The dinner scene is the least comedic scene in the film and the most memorable as well. There are some funny lines, but the dinner comes to a head once Shelley decides to compare the holocaust to slavery.
Akbar isn’t blameless. He follows the teachings of Louis Farrakhan. Before dinner, Akbar reveals he had the honor of meeting Farrakhan and asks Shelley if she’s familiar with his work. Without skipping a beat, Shelley reveals she’s familiar with Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic comments.
During the dinner, Akbar brings up not liking boats as a joke about slavery. Shelley responds by making a joke about Jews being sent to camps in trains. Shelley’s comment clearly alludes to comparing the holocaust to slavery. Akbar tries to clarify that Shelley isn’t trying to compare the two horrors. Shelley doubles down and all hell breaks loose.
The intensity of the scene is tremendous with Nia Long, Louis-Dreyfus and Murphy delivering their best performances in the film.
You People Final Thoughts
The dinner sequence alone is worth watching to see this tremendous cast make a meal out of the recipe created by Barris and Hill. You People loses steam after the dinner scene.
There’s the bachelor party that gets out of hand, a call-off of the relationship and an impromptu wedding. In short, the rest of the film is just too predictable in comparison to the creative 1st hour.
While not a home run, You People is a strong directorial debut for Barris. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
The Review
You People
PROS
- Jonah Hill and Lauren London have terrific chemistry.
- The supporting cast is phenomenal with Eddie Murphy and Julia Louis-Dreyfus leading the way.
- Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill's brilliant script.
- Sam Jay nearly steals the movie.
CONS
- Loses steam after the dinner scene.
- Ezra's younger sister isn't used enough.
