You People -movie review by (me!) ~topps
i am fresh off watching this movie; last night..
reasons for watching: 1. Netflix (commercial free/uninterrupted stories) 2. Comedy 3. Julie Louis-Drefus
everyone else was bonus.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus still in, 2023, remains the reigning champion for the scenes that have made me laugh my absolute longest and hardest. i love her!
and she is excellent in her role here, to be sure; the parent who means well, but is just always trying too hard.. three parts anxious; one part ignorant; and ever painfully sincere. wonderful comedic scenes because of her expressions, tone, delivery and perfect timing.
but the scene in this movie that had me laughing the hardest and longest.. like, tears did come out of my eyes, and i missed several scenes that followed because i was so caught up laughing from, what i'll call, the piano scene
-but it is just shy of the actual piano scene; the build up.. watching the back to back awkward moments by the parents, and the heightened embarrassment of the kids.. and then
it is the expression on jonah's characters face, when, in the distance he thinks he might hear...
and then he leans in closer toward the sound with expressions of such dread.. [can't stop laughing even write now] and reluctantly races toward the sound of music in a different room with his eyes wide open in terror and expressions of utter panic that what he thinks might be happening; is happening
and that got my deep laughter started...
and then you have david duchovny's character.. singing ordinary people, and the saying in our family, is i just went into one! laughing til i cried, taking a necessary breath and then laughing some more. and, oh my God, i could watch these scenes over and over and laugh just as hard every time.. the very definition of comedy!
anyway, i'm grateful the movie exists and grateful i watched it for that scene alone. and there were several other giggles here; giggles there throughout
-couple things threw me though
like, the plot itself. is this not 2023? is this not set in California? USA? 2023?
because, that any big deal at all is being made out of an interracial relationship -the black/white thing..
i reminded myself throughout, this is just a comedy.. but, even still, in our actual real world here in the bay area, northern california, 2023.. interracial and interfaith and mixed this or that.. these romantic relationships, marriages, divorces, 2nd marriages, etc. are so mainstreamed and common place from middle school through AARP, that to see a big deal being made of it seems highly outdated.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 film! and this you people comedy, for me personally, just doesnt succeed on that front; because of all that has taken place between 1960's and 2023.. the narrative is past its expiration date. -within our own family trees, both of us, there are multiple marriages, romantic relationships which are interracial and it is literally a non-issue. the analogy for me, is if there were a movie made and released today that made a big deal out of a woman being a doctor.
then we have the part of the story that pits the jewish and their sufferings of evil, against the blacks and their sufferings; in the 'who wins for having experienced the most injustices and evil' contest, and again, i had to remind myself, this is a comedy.. see it for what it is.. a comedy.. comedy...
but, again, for me personally, -the, who has the monopoly on pain and suffering/evil & injustices narrative, is also past its expiration date. i'll be 57 years old in a matter of weeks, so.. i've heard it ad nauseum; nothing fresh, interesting, insightful -or funny, for (me!),
and its a comedy; it's a comedy.. i know, but.. the vegas scenes, strippers/drugs -mainstreaming/celebrating that behavior; i dont find myself smiling or laughing or in the least entertained; i recoil and fast-forward.
and then, i am a fan of eddie murphy's stand-up and prior comedies -genius! and it just felt like a missed opportunity here in this you people movie.. i've seen 'mean dad' roles that yield laughter, because mean can be very funny, but this was played so -just mean- and flat and straight.. the deadpan delivery didn't translate as it may have been intended
-i was anticipating maybe we'd subtlety/subliminally hear that song playing in the background, ... why you gotta be so rude... but i never did.. -because it was too perfect a fit? it could be anticipated and therefore not funny.. or, did they miss a great opportunity to slip it in?
when i create my own imaginary scene.. and jonah's character is in the car with the dad.. -at some point he looks write at his future father-in-law, and whisper sings, "why you gotta be so rude.. i'm gonna marry her anyway" -in my imagination; that works for a laugh!
and there was dialogue and the 'i know an asshole' scene that served to justify and explain the -straight mean dad- .. but, i would have preferred (knowing full well they could not care less what i prefer) that eddie murphy be funny-mean instead of just mean. -because it was a comedy, and his talent for the serious would fit better in a serious genre movie.
the fun, funny and relatable; the tried and true.. awkwardness/insecurities/over-compensating mannerisms between two people reluctantly risking falling in love; awkwardness/anxiety of meeting your romantic partners parents; a couple's parents meeting each other for the first time; people trying too hard.. kids being embarrassed by their parents existence... generational & music taste culture gaps..
i will no doubt watch it again sometime though, and will no doubt laugh just as hard at the piano scene and then probably change the channel.
amen.
posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 12:02 PM
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