Genre – Romance, Comedy
The storyline is as old as time, but with Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy included in the cast, You People offers a somewhat fresh and interesting take.
The plot follows Ezra (Jonah Hill), a white Jewish man, and Amira (Lauren London), a black Muslim woman, as they embark on a romantic relationship.
The couple embraces their differences by accepting and loving their similarities.
However, when they decide to get married, and their parents meet, their cultural differences and racism become evident, leading to many conflicts between the families.
Akbar (Murphy), a pro-black Muslim dad, disapproves of Ezra and subjects him to harsh scrutiny and judgment while making little to no effort to get to know him.
Amira suffers a similar fate as she deals with Ezra’s mother, Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who constantly makes offensive and inappropriate remarks to and about Amira. With a good balance between comedy and social and romantic commentary, and packed with fast-paced punch lines and excellent comedic timing from Murphy and Hill, it’s worth the watch.
The movie’s blatant, somewhat uncomfortable portrayal of racism shows how some white people patronize black people by treating them as tokens or prizes, and not acknowledging them as normal human beings. It also shows the ways in which the pain of historical racial injustice may unintentionally be weaponized to overshadow conversations about other forms of oppression, in this case, violent prejudice against Jewish people.
The chemistry between Hill and London is interesting to watch as they play a couple who are clearly in love.
The wardrobe design for the characters and London’s constant hair changes, showing off the beautiful diversity of black women’s hair, were en pointe.
Without giving too much away or sharing any spoilers, viewers can decide what they think of the ending.
Both Hill and Murphy play very different roles in what they have become known for.
This is Hill’s first role as a lead in a romantic comedy, and hopefully the first of many.
Nia Long and Mike Epps play very minor roles and are almost easy to miss.
You People is available to watch on Netflix.
