Southside With You Blu-ray Review
Jeremy Werner
January 25th, 2017
SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU never hides the fact that it’s a movie about President Barack Obama on his first date with Michelle Obama. It’s not about how they met or how they fell in love, which would actually make for a more interesting movie, but about one afternoon in 1989 when they take a date through landmarks dotting Chicago’s Southside. So for the sake of avoiding any politics for a bit, I will only review this movie as the date movie that it is for a couple of paragraphs.
Michelle (Sumpter) seems fairly confident that she won’t be wooed by Barack (Parker), making multiple claims that what they will be doing for the day is not a date. It’s more of a get together and get-to-know-you meeting. Despite that claim, she’s putting on her best make-up and obsessing over her hair. Meanwhile Barack, while seen with a cigarette between his lips generously throughout the movie, is ensuring his breath doesn’t smell of tar and that his car has no cigarette smoke residue lingering around for Michelle to smell.
Despite the seemingly spontaneousness of the date, it’s very structured. They talk, drive, visit local art exhibits, stop by the park, attend a community conversation, check out Spike Lee’s DO THE RIGHT THING, have a drink, and eat ice cream. It seems more like a to-do list than it does a fluid date, but each stop is like a building block towards an overall theme. Their conversations range from musings, their personal life, and on the nose observations about one another. Their conversations are almost too on point for it to be a couple of lovebirds scoping each other out.
The romance and love is clear. Contemporary history helps that. But we never get a clear understanding of what draws them to one another. It’s not necessarily an opposites attract scenario, but they seem to enjoy the light sparring in viewpoints, while sharing similar social and racial ideals. That kind of conversation is good for a deep and meaningful relationship, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to anything titillating on screen. The flirting is non-existent, or completely went over my head. There is Disney cuteness to how they make each other laugh, smile, and think, but it never boils above that Hallmark greeting card level.
So let’s go ahead and throw history and politics into the mix now. If this were the actual beginnings of what would eventually become the 44th President of the United States and his First Lady meeting, why doesn’t it feel more meaningful? I’m not going to claim to have been in on the date (I would have a year old), but I’d like to believe there was more playful banter. I understand picking each other’s brains, but it’s almost like their date conversations and queries are catered toward what would later become Obama administration policies and talking points in his State of the Union addresses.
It’s a wonderfully shot movie, with some solid acting from a cast that looks the part almost to the point where you’d think they’d found Secret Service doppelgangers in a CIA warehouse. But since Obama is still fresh in America’s mind, maybe it’s hard to critique or add hardships that could cast the president in a negative light. However, it didn’t stop Michael Moore when it came to FAHRENHEIT 9/11. I’m not calling for a hit piece, just a little bit of realistic honesty. I want to see these two for who they are, conflicted and flawed human beings, like the rest of us. I can respect a cute date movie, but when you attach their names, it takes away a lot of the innocent charm.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p Widescreen 2:39:1) The scenery of Chicago (at least I think it’s the Windy City) comes through wonderfully on this blu-ray. There are a couple of blurry scenes, but they’re intentional, as noted in the commentary.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) The mixing on this blu-ray is solid, as we move from quiet art exhibits to noisy city parks. The audio levels flow seamlessly.
Commentary with Director/Writer Richard Tanne: As I’ve stated, and will continue to state, solo commentaries aren’t that fun. While Richard Tanne starts out strong, he slowly becomes exhausted; allowing silences to fill the track and struggles to find new information to divulge. There are plenty of moments where he repeats himself or repackages old information.
Original Artwork and Animations
Theatrical Trailer
