Southside With You (2016)

[hendersonrocks]

Anyone else seen this? I thought it was really lovely. A perfect summer film, with the added bonus of it being...well, the Obamas, Chicago in the summertime, and full of great art & music. I'd give an A+ for the casting of Barack Obama and B+ for Michelle Robinson.

[Sharpie66]

I'm hoping to see it sometime this week or next. I did read a review that said that Parker Sawyers went into the initial audition and brought a spot-on impersonation of Obama. The director had to tell him to dial it back a bit, because it was too eerily accurate, and the film needed more of a performance and less of a re-creation of the man.

[Empress1]

I saw it with my mom on Friday. I preferred Sawyers to Sumpter; I could see her acting. But it is a very sweet, lovely movie, and would have been a first date I'd have really loved.

I saw an interview with the actors and they said the Obamas haven't seen it. My mother wondered if anybody vetted it for accuracy.

[Dejana]

7 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

I'm hoping to see it sometime this week or next. I did read a review that said that Parker Sawyers went into the initial audition and brought a spot-on impersonation of Obama. The director had to tell him to dial it back a bit, because it was too eerily accurate, and the film needed more of a performance and less of a re-creation of the man.

Here's a interview with Parker and Tika where he puts on more of an Obama impersonation (starting around 1:15):

 

[SmithW6079]

I saw this this weekend as part of a film series at a local university. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I agree that Parker Sawyers was uncanny as Obama. I'd like to see him play Obama again in the movie about his election or whatever else. I enjoyed Tika Sumpter's portrayal too, but I got annoyed with Michelle for getting angry at Obama for when the partner "caught" them coming out of the movie. She was the one who agreed to go with him -- he had said he would respect whatever decision she made. She could have decided to go home.

Another of the things I really liked was the art exhibit. I knew that Ernie Barnes was the artist behind JJ Evans's paintings. 

[nicepebbles]

I absolutely loved this movie! It was just so well written and acted. I liked the simplicity of the premise and the movie could just be. A couple of the people in the theater were like, "That's it?" when it was over. I was like "did you not know what it was about?" Then I heard from other that saw the movie that they were expecting more. More what exactly? My reaction was, "As an African-American, this is the exactly the kind of movie we want. Simple stories. Not about black pathology. Slice of life stories. Stories that show black people's humanity. These are the kinds of roles black people want. Quit your bitching. Lol. Admittedly, I'm smitten with the first couple and this movie got my heart so I'm like if you didn't like it, you crazy. Lol.

I mean I was so into it, I was angry at Michelle for being all mad at Barack after they met the partner. I was like, "Girl, you crazy! You're the one that made it an issue. You better get it together!"

[Sharpie66]

I finally watched this film earlier today and really liked it a lot! Very sweet depiction of a couple with real chemistry on screen. Sawyers' Obama was really excellent in capturing both the appearance and essence of the man, and Sumpter's Michelle, while less scarily accurate, was nevertheless a believable woman who you could buy as the future FLOTUS, especially seeing her dance with the kids. I did have similar thoughts about her overreaction to meeting the firm partner, but the way he said that line about her treating Barack right also grated on my nerves, so I could see why she was so pissed off, probably more at herself than anything. 

Also, as a Chicagoland native, I loved the depiction of the city, especially the less-seen on screen South Side.