Review – Southside With You
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama get the Linklater Before treatment in Southside With You, which focuses on the couple’s first date together when they were both colleagues at a Chicago law-firm.
Did we actually need this movie? Probably not, as I believe an account of what happened this night was already publicized at some point. But, I am glad that we did. Southside With You is a charming, smart, always interesting love story with two excellent performances.
We watch as the hardworking, earnest Michelle (Tika Sumpter) goes out with the, “smooth-talking brother” Barack (Parker Sawyers) on what she considers “not a date”, though Barack has other ideas about that. The two spend the day together and we see their relationship blossom from work colleagues to more within these few hours. They go to an art exhibit and analyze the works of Ernie Barnes, debate over social issues and which is better, pie or ice cream, and discuss the power of Do the Right Thing (1989). Every conversation is interesting and reveals more and more about the characters themselves and about their relationship.
What writer/director Richard Tanne does best in the film is make these, now larger-than-life people, human. Their story is so relatable and the way they act and feel is exactly how we do. The movie isn’t really about Barack and Michelle, but about two people with different ideologies on life coming together to care about each other. It is very reminiscent of Richard Linkater’s masterpiece Before Trilogy, as the dialog about pop culture, politics, work, life, love, and family, never stop coming. At a breezy 84 minutes, you are always captivated by their conversations and stories.
The performances by Sumpter and Sawyers are top notch. The two don’t really look like the people they are portraying, but understand how they speak and act. Michelle, with a very deliberate, proper way of speaking and a more conservative, blue collar way of life and Barack being an incredibly smooth, charming, confident leader in the community. You can tell these two did their research for these roles and it pays off, as these are two of the best performances of the summer.
From the Janet Jackson ‘Miss You Much’-led opening credits to the final credits featuring the beautiful “Start” by John Legend, Southside With You is a movie that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. With it’s excellent writing, great performances, and heartwarming story, this is an engaging, fun, feel-good movie about two people starting to fall in love.
MY RATING – 3/4
Did you see Southside With You? What did you think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix. And LIKE Kevflix on Facebook!