MOVIE REVIEW: You People || Two Different Worlds
The generational differences between races will forever continue to exist as long as we remain humans. Human in the sense that we are naturally inclined to think that, for some reason, we are born "better" than some other person or people. And for this reason, the age-long clash between us based on ethnicity exists.
I find it delicate to talk about subjects relating to controversial topics because, you know, they are always sensitive. But inevitably, they will be brought up, and that's why we have many films relating to them. You People is yet another film about white and colored people.
I had no idea what the movie was about before choosing it to watch, even though the poster featured Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill and one could guess what it was about right away; I just liked that Eddie was in it and figured it was about time I watched a film with him after such a long time. I did not expect the film to be as interesting as I found it.
Ezra Cohen is a thirty-five-year-old broker and also a podcaster. He meets Amira Mohammed, and not long after, they fall into a relationship. Ezra and Amira come from opposing families, with Amira being colored and Ezra being Jewish.
Both families struggle with accepting this relationship between Amira and Ezra, with Amira's dad always putting Ezra on edge by being hostile and Ezra's mother treating Amira strangely because of her ethnicity.
Amira and Ezra's courtship begins to hang by a string every single day as their parents make their relationship suffocate for freedom to be themselves without their background getting in the way.
You People sounded like an intriguing title and gave me a certain vibe, as if the main character(s) were doing something out of the ordinary. I was right about that, but I did not think there would be anything comical about it.
For many parts of the film, I found myself amused at some hilarious moments that were portrayed, thanks to the anecdote of the relationship between the two families involved, the Mohammadus and the Cohens. One family feels ostracized by the other, while the other feels the animosity of the former, and both keep messing things up for their children.
You People is a film that I would classify as one that depicts the problems of ethnic clashes by using a good example of a marriage between two races. We "judge" people based on our prejudices about them. And we have the proclivity to only want to see things from our own perspectives. This film portrays that.
When the film first began, I felt lost right away. I even felt as though I had clicked on the wrong film, as I did not even understand what was going on for a minute or two. But with a little patience, it became clearer that it was only an introduction to the personality and lifestyle of the protagonist, which would make more sense as the story unfolded.
With only a few minutes in, there were comical dishes served in a subtle way, and I immediately felt I was going to enjoy the film, if not for anything at all, at least for the comic relief. And then, not long after, the course of the main story begins, which I liked as there was no derailment from what the story was going to be.
The story was a very typical one—the two families are two different people who just couldn't get along with one another—but it felt more engaging as it progressed in a natural manner, in a way we'd experience it in reality. Along with the subtly funny dialogue here and there, it was all the more engrossing.
I liked that the story regarding the matter between whites and colored people was presented in a balanced way, such that we see that it really isn't about color but about our thoughts about one another, and race is just another excuse to not accept one another.
However, I do feel that because I do not know what it's like to be the other person, I may not understand the stereotypes portrayed in this film. And the portrayal of the main character seems sort of counterintuitive to what he should represent, but then, the character had already been portrayed as "weird." Some parts of the film may be provocative to some audiences, depending on how they perceive them.
You People generally has brightly exposed imagery, which reflects the lighthearted and comical nature of the story. This gives the feel of a warm environment toallows the audience to fully engage with the film's intended message, which is mostly comedic and affectionate. I particularly liked that good attention to detail was invested in this film.
The audio matters of the film matter a lot for a film, and part of the reasons why I think I may have enjoyed the film is because of the songs that were selected to be featured.
The songs were majorly sounded modern, and they were songs that contributed to the feel of the film and made it all the more engaging. My favourite in the film would be the song Best Part – Daniel Caesar ft. H.E.R..
I chose You People because I saw Eddie Murphy in it and hadn't seen him in a movie in a long time. His performances in films like Norbit and Dr. Dolittle are why I naturally like him. And here in You People, although he is much older and not in his prime, he delivers very well, largely contributing to the fllm being enjoyable,
My favorite things he did were when he was sarcastic with the main character in the dialogues between them. I found them to be hilarious most times.
The actors and actresses in this were pretty solid as they made the film feel more natural, rather than just some play. I felt there was a connection between them and their characters, maybe some reflection of themselves in the characters as well.
There was a scene where we had the majority of the cast in one room for dinner, and they were all really good with their parts as it was in sync, making it all the more enjoyable - and hilarious too.
Although You People was about a very delicate matter, I appreciate how the filmmakers were able to portray their message and do so in a balanced way. And they managed to do so while making it fun for people to enjoy the film.
The movie does have the potential to be made into a series, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear that a TV series for You People has been announced. At the same time, we are talking about Netflix here, and so they might as well not do that.
I will give it a rating of 7/10.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Thumbnail source image designed with Canva.
Other images are from rotten tomatoes.
:)
ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕥, 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘, 𝕠𝕣 𝕦𝕡𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕥'𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.
I think this is well articulated.
I also think the movie implied more than race, although race was noticed mostly as the major difference, religion was subtly pondered as well.
I like that they tried to inject contents about pop culture here and there, and of course, comic relief >>>
I see you have watched the film. What rating would you give it, if you were to rate it?
Thank you for your kind words.
Comic relief - definitely 8.5/10
However, the script could have been better, so maybe 7/10 as well
That's fair, I think. Thanks for reading.
https://twitter.com/906146874/status/1628664924728688640
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @olujay ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.