You People – Film Review

A new couple and their families reckon with modern love amid culture clashes, societal expectations and generational differences.

Well, folks, it seems as if we’ve finally reached the mediocre corner of January in the form of Kenya Barris‘ You People, a buddy comedy that fails to deliver the laughs for the most part, and instead, feels like an over-extended commercial for tourism in Los Angeles.

Seriously – the way nearly every scene transitions is insanely hilarious in all the wrong ways. We watch a flashy edit reel of various different spots in the city and it’s genuinely crazy to think about the fact that nobody at the studio wanted to change that up even a little bit. That got incredibly annoying incredibly quickly.

One thing I did find myself enjoying was the way the film was all set up and how the families were eventually all brought together. It takes its time to do so but the way they did it here was much more creative than it would’ve been had they just lugged them all in a room together from the get-go.

That being said though, You People is outrageously long for a comedy. This thing seriously runs for approximately two hours and I have no idea why because the things they say could’ve been said still, regardless of the length. It could’ve easily benefited from about twenty minutes being completely chopped off.

But without a doubt the biggest problem with this movie is the fact that it’s simply not all that funny. I respect screenwriters Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill (who also stars) for trying to make a race-centered comedy that tackles important societal issues, but along their journey, they definitely fumbled the ball when it came to making a hilarious film.

However, the performances here are all quite entertaining to watch, namely Jonah Hill who is clearly having the time of his life in the role of Ezra Cohen. To be honest with you, though, it sort of just felt as if I was watching Hill portray himself in the movie. But, I can’t deny that I had fun watching him.

Then, of course, there’s the legendary Eddie Murphy who’s always a delight to watch on screen no matter what he’s doing. I’m convinced a movie starring Murphy watering some plants in his garden for two hours would be at the very least, decently amusing.

I will say that I wish David Duchovny and Julia Louis-Dreyfus had a bit more to do in this film because they’re incredible talents who I feel got relatively wasted here. Honestly, it is a little surprising to me how so many A-listers signed up for this project because of just how mediocre it is.

There clearly is a significantly better movie lurking in this gigantic mess of a comedy, but sadly, that movie will never see the light of day. Unless you’re a megafan of any of the actors involved with this film, you probably won’t find yourself having too much fun with You People.

Although its impressive cast is a delight to watch, You People is a massively unfunny, overly long mess that doesn’t get its message across as effectively as it could have.