Netflix’s newest rom-com, You People, written by Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill, follows an interracial couple, Ezra (Hill) and Amira (Lauren London), as they attempt to get married amidst their families’ “clashing cultures, social skepticisms, and generational differences.” The almost two-hour film, also directed by Barris, is composed of constant excruciating dialogue, creating a web of generalizations about black and white people. In reality, the unofficial modernized version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? tried way too hard to be “woke” and missed the target I assume it was trying to hit. 

The film opens with Ezra, a co-host of a podcast about “the culture,” which he discusses with his black co-host, Mo (Sam Jay). A broker by day, he ends up mistaking Amira for an Uber driver in a disgustingly embarrassing encounter. Still, their strange encounter blossoms into a romance, and soon Ezra considers asking Amira to be his wife. Thus, we enter into a generic cliche of “meet the parents.” Amira is uncomfortably introduced to Ezra’s Jewish family, where his parents, Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Arnold (David Duchovny), try their best to prove they are “with it.” This includes Shelley bringing up police brutality and Arnold talking about his admiration of Magic Johnson. Ezra then invites himself to meet Amira’s parents only to be faced with hostility, especially from her father, Akbar (Eddie Murphy). As the film progresses, we see Ezra and Amira attempt to make things work, only to be faced with every possible stereotypical situation you can think of for interracial couples. 

Like all fathers of the bride, Akbar immediately decides Ezra is not the person for Amira. He then tries to break Ezra, pushing him into predictable situations designed to make Ezra fail, whether it’s forcing him onto a basketball court, wearing the wrong gang color to a barbershop, or coming to his bachelor party trip. Shelley, trying to prove how “open” she is to Amira’s blackness, finds every possible way to make tone-deaf comments to Amira and her friends. On top of this, religious and generational differences are brought up and then shut down. The film opens up a lot of doors for progressive discussion but seems to blow everything off with a cheap joke or weird, flashy graphic bringing us to the next scene. It was too much. 

Content aside, a rom-com is great if there is actually romance. Hill and London had no chemistry. Anytime they made each other laugh, it felt forced; their domestic life felt fake, and their heartfelt reunion at the end was one of the worst resolutions I’ve ever seen. The concept of a couple calling their engagement off with nothing but a single tear made me think that maybe this couple truly wasn’t meant to be. It wasn’t their parents, the color of their skin, or even whether or not Ezra saw the film Juice. There was no spark, and therefore, every setback this couple had felt like the writers just wanted to throw another topic of debate into the midst. Nothing was personal. They just assumed every interracial couple has the same problems as Ezra and Amira. 

There is no attempt to discredit the experiences of black people, Jewish people, or interracial couples. However, the young American experience cannot be summed up into one film. You People tried to include every possible scenario that a couple, or person, may go through in their life. We should discuss the racial and cultural divisions between black and white people. We should talk about white women’s superficial infatuation with black culture. Discuss generational differences, religious differences, political differences, ignorance versus arrogance, appropriation, and even vaccines. However, try not to squish it into one film where everything is left unresolved and replaced with an exhausting joke. Barris didn’t have a firm grasp on where he needed to go, so we ended up feeling nothing about what were supposed to be the most important moments. 


Overall, it’s hard to call the film offensive because the concept was good. We need a comedy about cultural clashes when diverse couples come together. Unfortunately, You People is not the solution. With the potential of the concept and the cast, it’s painful to see a film fail so miserably.

Review Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas