“You People” is a dynamic romantic comedy that has a much-needed conversation about racial differences in our country. 

The movie premiered Jan. 28 exclusively on Netflix and was written and directed by Jonah Hill and Kenya Barris. Barris is known for creating the hit ABC shows “Black-ish,” “Grown-ish,” and “Mixed-ish.” 

The movie stars Hill as Ezra, a bank investor and podcaster, and Lauren London as Amira, an aspiring costume designer. The pair meet after an Uber mishap, where Ezra mistakenly gets into the backseat of Amira’s car while she was pulled over getting directions from her GPS. Ezra gives Amira directions to where she was originally going before he had mistaken her as his Uber in exchange for a ride. 

From there the two exchange numbers and fall in love after a series of dates — eventually getting engaged.

The movie features an all-star cast, including Eddie Murphy as Akbar, Amira’s father; Nia Long as Fatima, Amira’s mother; Julia Louis Dreyfus as Shelley, Ezra’s mother; and David Duchovny as Arnold, Ezra’s father.

After watching the trailer I expected a full-on comedy movie, with actors like Hill and Murphy. 

Although it did have those comedic moments, “You People” went deeper. 

The movie’s tagline is “opposites attract, families don’t.” 

Ezra is of Jewish descent, whereas Amira is of Muslim descent. Throughout the movie you see their families clash and argue over cultural differences. 

Some parts of the movie are hard to watch, but it shows the harsh realities interracial couples face when merging families.

Outside of that important theme, the movie is amusing. I enjoyed the cameos from actress Lala Anthony, rapper Yung Miami, and comedian Mike Epps. Those three brought a nice comedic relief to the serious themes throughout the movie. 

The movie was filmed in Los Angeles and featured the culture of the city throughout. There was also a brief tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle. Hussle was a Los Angeles icon and London’s partner until his death in 2019. 

“You People” is London’s second movie since Hussle passed and it was beautiful to see that personal element in the movie. 

The movie also featured Khadijah Haqq, as Renee, Amira’s friend. London and Haqq worked previously together in the film ATL, where the two played best friends. Having Haqq play London’s friend was a nice reference to a film they are most commonly known for.  

However, the ending of the movie fell a bit short, and felt rushed and thrown together. The film would have benefited from a longer runtime, so a proper ending could have been achieved. 

In the future, I hope to see a sequel to this movie due to its underwhelming ending. There is much room for character development in all of the characters. 

“You People” is streaming now only on Netflix.