Walking and talking meet cutes are no longer the sole domain of Richard Linklater. Southside With You is the story of the Obama’s meet cute. This day in the life film captures the magic of first love and revels in showcasing Barack Obama, smooth operator.
Flashback to summer of 1989 and Janet Jackson and Do the Right Thing sweeping the nation. 2nd year lawyer Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) gets invited by her advisee at the firm, Harvard law student Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) to a city council meeting. However, Barack has other plans, having liked Michelle for a while. The two spend the day according to Michelle “not on a date” with a picnic, art show, movie, and some drinks, learning about each other and realizing the feelings we know they eventually have for each other.
I’m surprised more romances like the Before Trilogy aren’t seen in cinema. If you’re making a movie where two people fall in love, the relatable way to show the love is through their conversation and body language, not romantic fantasy like the Bachelor. Southside With You does so much with words and glances, that you feel the attraction. Barack does the “up and down” eyes to Michelle more than once, and Michelle will smile at Barack when he’s not staring at her more and more as the movie goes on. When talking, these two are having ubiquitous twenty something existential crises, whether it be job satisfaction, personal goals, and career paths. What makes Southside With You different is the fact that the couple is African-American. In addition to the normal set of problems for young adults, Michelle and Barack also navigate the tricky waters of being black in a mostly white professional world. These “inconsequential” conversations help SHOW the audience who these two are, and why they are a lovely fit with each other.
All success here goes to the leads. Parker Sawyers has the trickier, showier role playing a younger version of the 44th President of the United States. The dude is a spitting image of Barack, and there are enough mannerisms that remind us of the man he will become. His equal, and maybe superior is Tika Sumpter. Sumpter choose to focus on the first lady’s staccato diction, which gives Michelle a power and command. Also, Sumpter’s expressions give Michelle unexpected warmth. The two conflicted personality traits make Michelle consistently compelling, thanks to Sumpter. Sawyers and Sumpter together also show how the two are a good match to each other, with a strong attraction and a comfortable rat-at-at.
Yes we can enjoy Southside With You. The Obama’s adorable past will generate hope and change the movie landscape with more films like this one. And it will make you want to find that spark and connection with someone, a dream of our fathers. Forward, and Believe in America!