“YOU PEOPLE” ON NETFLIX IS NEW TAKE ON A FAMILIAR STORY

When I saw the cast for “You People” on Netflix I thought it would be a laugh-a-minute movie. Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are usually good for comedy gold. The storyline is the tried-and-true story of opposing viewpoints put to the test as they become family. Basically, it’s an update of “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” from 1967 where the subject of interracial marriage was much tabooer than it is today. I felt that the cast would be able to tackle the subject matter with an edge and uncomfortable humor that Hill is known for. His ability to make the most normal situation become awkward with his casual style and strings of adlibbed dialogue is unmatched. It becomes accentuated when he has a willing partner in a scene. In this film he has many opportunities with Murphy and others playing along. Murphy has the comedic chops to not only adlib but find balance between straight humor and at times heart. In this film though he taps into his edgier side and cuts back on the comedy for being mostly straight up mean. Dreyfus taps into her ability to be uncomfortably funny for bouts of humor and uncomfortable moments of cringe worthy dialogue. Lauren London adds the strong presence that balances out Hill’s insecurities and rambling. She was the glue keeping the story altogether. I was hoping that I would be laughing continually at this film but that was not the case.

While the premise is sound of two families trying to accept their new in-laws and a young couple trying to overcome racial differences in our times of division it doesn’t have the impact you would hope for. You would hope that it would balance that out with comedy, but that also was lacking. While I love the stylings of all the actors involved it was too much at times and sometimes lacked cohesiveness. Adlibbing is fun and can cause some of the most memorable moments in cinema, but there is a limit to it being a movie full of it. Hill too many times fumbles his way through uncomfortable moments with unending words that go from funny to just rambling without end. Dreyfus, as his mother mirrors this at times, but it is more controlled and to the point where it hits its mark without overshooting it. I felt Murphy was excellent in his role of the unaccepting father, but they missed out on opportunities to put his humor to the best use. Instead, he was just mean and there wasn’t enough of his charm infused when I thought it would be best. While this update tackled real life current concerns within the racial divide and pokes fun at everything from cultural appropriation to being vaccinated, they felt added in instead of flowing with the story. The scenes near the end were powerful reflecting how anyone can have their bigotry or seeing the difference between bigotry and just being mean. That will hit home for more people I think than some of the jokes. There were definitely times I laughed out loud, but I felt I was expecting something more to happen to be more memorable. While I recommend this movie it’s more for the social points it makes versus the comedy you would expect. The message in the end should be what you remember after all.