On January 27, Netflix premiered a new comedy film, What Kind of People, starring Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy. But this is not a comedy in its pure form, and also a film that tries to be a sharp social satire. In the review below, we tell how successfully the authors managed to combine comedy and seriousness.

“What kind of people” / You People

Genre romantic comedy, social satire
Director Kenya Burris
In roles Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, David Duchovny, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Elliot Gould
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2022
Site IMDb

Ezra Cohen, a 35-year-old mattress from a Jewish family, complains to his friend and podcast colleague that he can’t manage his personal life. However, thoughts of dying alone disappear when the man meets Amira Mohammed, a dark-skinned girl from a Muslim family.

A romantic relationship is established between the young people, and in six months Ezra plans to marry his beloved. But later the heroes realize that they will have to overcome a lot of obstacles on the way to their happiness. In particular, this applies to parents of lovers who have significant differences in views on various aspects of life, not to mention religious and racial issues.

In an attempt to come to terms with their parents and between them, Ezra and Amira decide to make some compromise decisions. But the more they try to smooth out the corners, the more catastrophic the consequences of this whole unpleasant situation will be.

The topic of interracial relationships and marriages is far from new in cinema. Back in the distant 60s, Stanley Kramer shot “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” with stars like Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn. This film received 10 Oscar nominations and recognition from the American Film Institute.

In the modern era, we have enough examples of movies where lovers belonging to different races and cultures have to fight against the prejudices of their immediate environment. There is a lot to mention: from the unsuccessful remake of Kramer’s film “Guess Who” to our own “Crazy Wedding” with the vividly expressive Nazar Zadniprovskyi and episodic actors Vinnyk, Potap and Monatyk.

However, “What kind of people” tries to distance itself from the cute and not so stupidity of typical rom-coms and to be more serious. The tape can pass for a new remake of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”, only taking into account modern agendas and the absence of any ambitions for prestigious film awards.

It’s cool that the humor here is based on certain situations and contexts, and not on how stupid Jonah Hill will look in another colorful skinny, or how wide Eddie Murphy’s teeth will be. The latter, by the way, generally behaves very modestly and discreetly, which is only beneficial. And then the word “heikinya” was heard: how do you like it, viewer?

Until a certain time, the given formula works well. The jokes cause a slight smile, not least thanks to the excellent Ukrainian dubbing, David Duchovny’s terrible singing is well portrayed, Julia Louis-Dreyfus brings another dose of nonsense. Somewhere in there, in a cameo, you can see respected uncles, such as, for example, 84-year-old Elliot Gould, known for his role in the cult sitcom “Friends”.

But with the passage of time and the escalation of the conflict between the families, the comedic component gradually fades away, and the satirical component does not evoke any emotions. Moreover, the transition from the highest point of antagonism to the further finale, banal and eerily predictable, but only possible according to the laws of the genre, looks unconvincing.

It is hard to believe that the most radical Akbar, that is, Murphy’s character, changed his mind out of some fear. There is no powerful factor that would make his hero in a sweatshirt with the inscription “Fred Hampton was killed” so easily give in to his own principles.

There are certain questions about the method of transition between frames. At the beginning of the film, the authors abuse the insert frames that appear during the montages. Such a clip method interferes with the normal perception of the video series, although it is good that this stupid game is quickly forgotten and then remembered infrequently.

For director Kenya Burris, “What kind of people” was the directorial debut in a full-length. Burris also performed the function of one of the screenwriters, and John Hill himself became the second. The guys did a good job of not descending to the level of a banal rom-com with a bad sense of humor, because that would turn their tape into a real bad taste.

But, on the other hand, they failed to find the perfect balance between the comedic and the highly social. Pretending to be a loud saying, to which it was not possible to listen. Also, the central idea has a hard time competing with Hill’s character’s bright outfits. For some reason, the second is remembered much more strongly than the first.

Pros:
the presence of really funny moments, a good cast, the absence of low humor and inappropriate expressions

Cons:
as a satire, the film does not work at full capacity, and as a pure comedy does not look like the best example of the genre, and this flickering on the editing clips is very annoying

Conclusion:

“What kind of people” sometimes looks witty, but in general a very optional project in the filmography of the stars gathered here. Yes, they sort of talked with a serious face about the current issue, had a little fun, joked, even went to Vegas to hang out, and that was it. Obviously, this will be enough for a mediocre film