You People
An uncomfortable parade of social prejudices and stereotypes masquerades as romantic comedy.
Jonah Hill with Julia Louis-Dreyfus
In this alternative boy-meets-girl release, Ezra Cohen (Jonah Hill) is a 35-year-old man who works as a financial broker but hates his job. His side-line, and his passion, is recording a podcast with his best friend and colleague Mo (Sam Jay). Ezra is a White male, Mo is a Black female, and The Mo and E Z Show covers The Culture (i.e. Black culture). Their banter is natural, entertaining and genuinely conversational. Pretty much, they are just “shooting the shit,” and it works.
Ezra is ready to meet someone and settle down. He wants love and happiness, but he is wearied from being set up with professional women who don't ‘see’ him. Nothing particularly unusual yet. But when Boy Meets Girl, Mo is horrified that Ezra’s lunch date is a ‘real’ Black woman (Amira, played by Lauren London), a costume designer who has tired of a Black man who belongs to a book club with her father and quotes literary authors in his pursuit of her. She is longing for a partner who can ‘see’ her.
Then, as if by magic (read romcom formula), Ezra and Amira progress easily and quickly into a cute, realistically sentimental and insular couple. They come out of their love bubble before long and realise it’s time to meet their parents…
And thus begins the film's chaos.
If it’s true that too many cooks spoil the broth, so it is that too many ingredients spoil the dish. Goodness knows what happened in the planning meeting and writing sessions (possibly not with coffee and doughnuts): co-writers Jonah Hill (a White Jew) and director Kenya Barris (a Black man) decided to throw in a nearly complete A-Z of divisive topics. Why stop with an interracial couple when we can add religion (Ezra is Jewish and Amira was raised a Muslim)? And, because we can, let’s throw in an LGBTQ sibling who wears special glasses made from recycled soft-drink cans , sports (apparently Whites can’t play basketball and Blacks don’t have an affinity with water for swimming or sailing), and stereotypical racial fashion and hair on both sides.
But why stop there? Let's sprinkle references to Black Panthers (Eddie Murphy is introduced to the story wearing a ‘Fred Hampton was Murdered’ T-shirt), Black Lives Matter, Nascar and Confederate flags, police brutality, taking the knee during the American National Anthem, the Capital Insurrection, objection to Covid vaccines and homophobia (vaccines “make people gay”) to the recipe. Etc. Etc. But let’s really make people uncomfortable by using the F bomb and the N word incessantly. The real blowfish on the platter, however, is the debate/argument/challenge about the Holocaust versus Slavery. Bam. Thank God/Allah we were spared circumcision discussions.
Oh, and don’t forget the meddling future in-laws that complete this ensemble. Shelley Cohen (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) captures the essence of an over-exuberant and excruciatingly embarrassing Jewish mother trying to be welcoming and inclusive of the new addition to the family. Eddie Murphy puts in a rather sinister performance as Akbar ‘Woody’ Muhammed, a Black Muslim convert, religious zealot and overprotective father. Fatima Muhammed (Nia Long) and Arnold Cohen (David Duchovny) do little more than make up the cringy parents roster. Recognisable extras include Elliott Gould, Rhea Perlman, Hal Linden, Mike Epps, Richard Benjamin and director Kenya Barris.
If the aim of You People was to be provocative, it succeeds by the ladle-full.
If the aim was to be divisive, put it in a slow cooker and keep stirring.
If the hope was that it would start a conversation, it’s a big maybe (this could be the time to add a generous pinch of salt).
If it wants to be judged as a romcom, it should start from scratch.
This alphabet soup is practically inedible and leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.
FRANCES PALMER CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Jonah Hill, Lauren London, David Duchovny, Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eddie Murphy, Sam Jay, Travis Bennett, Molly Gordon, Deon Cole, Andrea Savage, Elliott Gould, Rhea Perlman, Mike Epps, La La Anthony, Hal Linden, Richard Benjamin, Anthony Anderson, Kenya Barris.
Dir Kenya Barris, Pro Kevin Misher, Jonah Hill and Kenya Barris, Screenplay Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill, Ph Mark Doering-Powell, Pro Des Maxine Shepard, Ed Jamie Nelsen, Music Bekon, Costumes Michelle Cole.
Khalabo Ink Society/Strong Baby/Misher Films-Netflix.
117 mins. USA. 2023. UK and US Rel: 27 January 2023. Cert. 15.
