Lauren London & Jonah Hill's You People, Review

With an opening commentary funnier than a Chris Rock and Kevin Hart show, You People has become a fan favorite for its epic cast of Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, Nia Long, Lauren London, and more. Its hilarity is dry and blunt with a hint of irony. You People is not only funny, but has a serious tone as well. The movie, co-produced by Jonah Hill, includes racial inequities of what Black and Muslim cultures face in today’s world.

As a Jewish extrovert, Ezra, played by Jonah Hill who looks “like a dad who lost his kid at Coachella,” opens the movie with his infamous belly-aching acting, yet, somehow better than ever before jokes. He and his friend Mo, played by Sam Jo, banter back and forth. Somehow Drake gets pulled into the conversation, and hey, why not, they already joked about Obama being gay — continue to go back and forth as Ezra says to Mo, “I feel like Views Drake. I feel like I’m alone. I don’t have Certified Lover Boy Drake energy right now. I’m at an Italian restaurant by myself drinking Manischewitz out of a goblet, wondering to myself when is it my turn to feel deep happiness and connection?”

Days later, Ezra jumps into the backseat of a girl's Uber. Thinking he’s being racially insincere by assuming a young black woman might only be on the road to haul others to their way, begins to yell and beat Ezra in a panic. He smoothly jokes himself out of the situation and finds out, Amira, as played by Lauren London, was lost on her way to work. After the two conclude their back-and-forth arguing, they agree to go on a date together. 

Amira, like Ezra, is a classy, carefree spirit who upon going out with Ezra, greets his energy perfectly with her matching hippie attire. At first, some family and friends of the two can’t understand why they are dating one another, but that doesn’t stop them from growing closer. The real kick-off though was when Ezra complimented Amira on their date saying there was no box that could define her. Taken aback with honor, she admits that he’s real, and the two fall even harder.

Within the first thirty minutes of the movie, and only after a couple of dates together, Ezra goes as far as buying a ring in plans to marry Amira. It’s no rock, but it’s an heirloom from the Holocaust. Though Ezra comes from a traditional Jewish family who would usually prefer to marry within the religion, his mom expresses happiness when he tells her his plan. However, Amira’s family wasn’t the easiest to win over. While asking for approval to marry their daughter, Ezra is met with uncomfortability and jokes his way through the first conversation with Amira’s parents. He even bluntly states that Jesus is both black and Jewish.

Amira’s father, Akbar, played by Eddie Murphy, having no want in Ezra’s nonsense. He leans in with his arms crossed over his chest to ask, “So you wanna marry my daughter?” Ezra responds, “Yes, yes I do.” With no hesitation at all, Akbar says, “Well Ezra, you can try.” 

Though Ezra was not received with the blessing of Amira’s parents, he still dropped to one knee to propose with what actually would be a very romantic proposal, as he warm-heartedly confesses his love for Amira. She happily says “Of course.” Ezra, with a newfound confidence, proceeds to change a few things in his life. He quits his job to start a podcast on black culture, but only after expending the couple from buying a house for the two. Worried about their finances, Amira’s parents warn her not to move forward with Ezra.

As the movie continues, the families attempt to get to know one another by sharing stories of their heritages. As they talk about the differences in their racial adversaries, the two families inadvertently bond. Both have gone through adversity like slave ownership and the Holocaust.

Amira asks Ezra to spend quality time with her dad, while Amira agrees to do the same with his mother. Akbar takes Ezra to his barbershop where he’s jokingly called “a pigment-challenged friend,”. The shop is located in an inner city where people are predominantly black. Ezra’s Mom, Shelley, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, takes Amira to a beauty spa and makes a scene for thinking the beautician was allowing someone else ahead of them because of Amira being black. Shelley then embarrasses herself even more by accidentally ripping a wig off of one of Amira’s bridesmaids’ head. Though apprehensive, the families continue with their efforts to get to know one another. 

As the romantic comedy continues, Ezra faces the daunting reality that Akbar still doesn’t want him to marry his daughter. He tells him he’s not the right one in a hard truth man to man chat. Ezra responds with a lengthy speech on why he’s the perfect match for Amira. He also states all the reasons why Akbar was in the wrong for razzing him. Amira and Shelley seemingly go through the same conflict right before the wedding. As Amira finally stands her ground with Shelley and says she needs to stop showing her off like a shiny toy to all of her friends. Though everyone was coming from a genuine place, each side of the family had an equal point in the matter. 

After having gone through more hardship than she anticipated, Amira calls off the wedding. Ezra ends up having great success with his podcast with his co-host best friend, Mo. He talks about how hip-hop shaped his life and that he’s proud to represent the culture by just being him. He tries to date other women, but nobody is measuring up to Amira. With the help of Akbar’s friend, Amira’s dad soon realizes that his daughter and Ezra do belong together. He calls Shelley with hopes to bring their two kids back together. This ends with a surprise meet-up between the four of them. 

You People ends in a wedding. Both Akbar and Shelley apologize and give their blessings for them to get married if they so wish. Ezra and Amira quickly decide to get back together. Little did they really know the plans of their parents, as they surprised the couple with a wedding attended by all of their family and friends, knowing they’d choose love over loss. Ezra and Amira walk down the aisle and the wise-cracking Jewish boy lives happily ever with his free-spirited Muslim wife. You People is available now on Netflix.