Film Review: “You People” Is an Unhinged Twitter Thread
Despite what Kenya Barris thinks, interracial marriage is not a novelty concept. Many films examine these couples with compassion, nuance, and humor, like the pleasantly sweet Something New and the delightfully funny The Big Sick. Unlike these films, You People barely touches the surface of what it means to date someone of a different ethnicity.
Considering Barris’s track record for overtly explaining racial issues in his television shows, it is unsurprising that his new romantic comedy, co-written with Jonah Hill, reads more like an unhinged Twitter thread than a feature film. Barris and Hill desperately want to create a rom-com that discusses the intricacies of interracial dating in modern-day America. Instead, the creatives craft an unpleasant story with unappealing characters and dated stereotypes about Black and Jewish people.
You People follows the love story between Ezra (Hill) and Amira (Lauren London). By day, Ezra is a broker at a finance company, but by night, he moonlights as a culture podcaster with his best friend, Mo (Sam Jay), on The Mo and E-Z Show. As a thirty-something Jewish man from Los Angles, Ezra wants to find someone who will love him for who he is. Unfortunately, the only women his mother, Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), sets him up with are lovely Harvard graduates. Luckily for him, Ezra’s romantic journey begins when he accidentally mistakes Amira, a Black woman, for his Uber driver. Though the two start on the wrong foot, the odd pair find common ground, and their unexpected courtship blossoms into a full-blown romance.
Six months later, Ezra and Amira decide to take their relationship to the next level by visiting their parents as a couple. Much to the chagrin of Ezra and Amira, their parents cannot get over the fact that their child is dating someone from a different racial and religious group. Amira’s devout Muslim parents, Akbar (Eddie Murphy) and Fatima (Nia Long), are suspicious of Ezra’s intentions with their daughter as they believe he is only with her to advance his street cred. In contrast, Ezra’s parents only see Amira as a “toy” to show off to their friends. With their upcoming nuptials on the horizon, Ezra and Amira must convince their parents they are suitable for each other or risk succumbing to their elders’ prejudices.
For a romantic comedy, the tone in You People is profoundly pessimistic and off-putting. Take Akbar’s introduction as Amira’s no-nonsense father, for example. In the scene, Akbar meets his daughter and son Omar (Travis Bennett) for lunch at a smoothie shop in Baldwin Hills. As the grown man observes the Black patrons and waitstaff, he asks his children, “Is it my imagination, or are Black folks hair getting curlier and curlier?” Fortunately, neither child can answer the question since Akbar quickly proclaims he has “the nappiest hair in this place.” This joke—if that is what you want to call it—does not land because Murphy’s head is BALD. Along with lacking common sense, the comment portrays Akbar as a highly judgmental person who rates Blackness on a rudimentary scale.
In some ways, Akbar’s terrible personality tracks as he is the thorn in Ezra’s backside. Yet, even the most ruthless fathers-in-law have a redeeming quality or two (ahem, Jack from Meet the Parents). Throughout the film’s runtime, Akbar chastises other people’s appearances, his daughter’s relationship with Ezra, and even his wife’s white relatives. On the one hand, it is admirable that Murphy plays a cranky old Boomer who refuses to leave the 20th century. But, on the other hand, his performance lacks an iota of substance. With that said, Murphy’s two-dimensional portrayal of Akbar is not entirely the actor’s fault. The comedian can make any character sing with the right material, like his take on Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is My Name. Unfortunately, Murphy cannot stick the landings with Barris and Hill’s subpar script.
To be fair, no actor, including the goddess of laughter, Louis-Dreyfus, can salvage You People. The central problem with this romantic comedy is that the script is didactic. Instead of showing how racism and microaggressions can affect a mix-raced, multi-religious couple, Barris airs his grievances on top of his metaphorical soap box for everyone to hear. Sometimes Barris’s penchant for exposition is insightful and engaging, like in his beautifully joyful Juneteenth-themed episode on the ABC sitcom Blackish. However, the character’s explanations about race, relationships, and religion are downright grating in You People.
Near the 50-minute mark, Ezra and Amira’s parents meet for dinner for the first time since Ezra popped the question to his lover. As the two families gather, the conversations devolve into a debate over which ethnic group suffered the most at the hands of their oppressors. At best, this moment is pure cringe as Barris and Hill force their characters to participate in The Oppressive Olympics. At worst, the scene is offensive since Amira’s parents have no qualms expressing their resentment towards Jewish people’s monetary success and relative safety in the United States. Alarmingly, these statements from Akbar and Shelly ring false since domestic terrorists have a history of attacking Jewish people on American soil. Not acknowledging that fact is a disservice to the movie’s audience.
However, the worst aspect of You People is the lack of spark between its romantic leads, Ezra and Amira. The two characters act more like best friends than a couple, which is not the goal of any romantic comedy. Part of the issue is that Hill is not romantic leading man material. He may be a terrific actor who can make the slimiest character appealing, but the performer does not have the charisma to carry a rom-com. London’s take on Amira does fare slightly better than Hill’s performance, partly thanks to her chill Los Angeles vibes and Daddy’s Little Girl schtick. However, her performance pales in comparison to the likes of Meagan Good and Gabrielle Union.
You People is not just a bad movie. It is a bad movie that does not even know its target audience. Is this film for irritable Boomers who scoff at $10 smoothies and avocado toast, progressive Millennials who voted for Obama twice, or people who simply want to watch a corny Netflix rom-com? Perhaps the answer is none of the above, as Barris and Hill are more comfortable spewing obnoxious jokes from 2003 than telling a good story. Along with its terrible writing, unappealing characters, and lukewarm leads, You People is not worth anyone’s time or sanity.
