Sunday, January 29, 2023

You People - Kenya Barris - 2023


★★★ - Not bad at all. You can't really miss with this group of talent. Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill's writing is on point. Hill's character is great too. David Duchovny, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eddie Murphy, Nia Long. Then the cameos are something as well. I won't spoil those.

Gist is Hill, culturally Jewish, meets Lauren London, a black woman. They hit it off and their relationship progresses to the meet the parents to get the hand stage. All the parents are embarrassingly terrible in totally different ways. One of those will their love survive the cultural/generational differences along with their parents' expectations. It might sound lame, but it is done really well.
Several scenes stand out for their exceptional writing. The one where Hill's character is at the synagog is stellar. So funny it's insane. A doctor asks Hill about his dick. Says he'll look at it for free in the bathroom. He declines. We then find out he is an orthodontist. That's one thing I really appreciated about the writing. How the jokes are patient. Like we find out that London's family are Muslim. Eventually we find that they are actually Nation of Islam and Hill tries to explain why he loves Louis Farrakhan.
Murphy is actually a really funny straight man, which was surprising. Hill could have played hero ball he was so on fire, but he didn't need to. Duchovny had a few hilarious moments, like when Hill leaves him with London to check his mom, Louis-Dreyfus (who is insane and such a familiar-type of “cool” mom), and finds him playing the piano and singing John Legend. “Dad, what the fuck?” Mike Epps, an Indianapolis native, is an absolutely incredible heat-check. He totally stole the show.
However, I thought the end was stupid, made worse by the sappy score. Also, I'm not buying London and Hill as a couple. Anyone who is partners with Nipsey Hussle and Lil Wayne isn't going to seem right with the likes of Jonah Hill.

No comments: