YOU PEOPLE: 3 STARS
The new rom com 鈥淵ou People,鈥 starring Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy and Lauren London and now streaming on Netflix, has the frank social commentary of 鈥淕uess Who鈥檚 Coming to Dinner鈥 mixed with 鈥淢eet the Parents鈥 family dynamics.
Directed and co-written (with Hill) by 鈥淏lack-ish鈥 creator Kenya Barris, 鈥淵ou People鈥 begins as unhappy, socially awkward thirty-something Ezra (Hill) wonders if he鈥檒l ever find a woman who understands him. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever heard of a man who ever wanted to be in a relationship so badly,鈥 says Ezra鈥檚 best friend Mo (Sam Jay), 鈥渂esides Drake.鈥
The part-time podcaster and full-time office worker鈥檚 pampering mother Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) wants him to settle down, but there are no prospects in sight until he mistakenly jumps into fashion stylist Amira鈥檚 (London) car, mistaking it for an Uber.
It isn鈥檛 exactly love-at-first sight鈥斺淵ou鈥檙e a Jew from West L.A.,鈥 she says. 鈥淲hat do you know about culture?鈥濃攂ut over time love blossoms.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e dating a Black girl?鈥 asks Mo. 鈥淚 have never felt so understood by somebody in my entire life,鈥 he replies.
It鈥檚 all sunshine and roses with Ezra and Amira, but this is a romantic comedy, so there have to be obstacles to their happiness. That friction comes in the form of the couple鈥檚 parents.
Ezra鈥檚 folks, Shelley and Arnold (David Duchovny) are rich, progressive and cringey in their attempts to prove to Amira that there isn鈥檛 a hint of racism in the family.
Amira鈥檚 parents, the devoted Nation of Islam Muslim followers Akbar (Eddie Murphy) and Fatima (Nia Long), do not warm to Ezra, and make no secret of their feelings over lunch at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles.
鈥淪o,鈥 asks Akbar, 鈥渄o you hang out in the hood all the time, or do you just come here for our food and women?鈥
鈥淵ou People鈥 takes on hot button subjects, like cultural differences and racial divides, but this is, at its heart, a rom com, so at the end, hurdles will be overcome and happily-ever-afters will be had. That is a given, not a spoiler, just reality, but it is also the weakest part of the movie.
鈥淵ou People鈥 is at its best when it puts the seasoned cast on screen together. The scenes that gather the young couple and the two sets of parents are highlights, delivering laughs and plenty of situational humour. Subtlety is not on the menu, but Louis-Dreyfus and a deadpan Murphy milk every laugh out of the script, playing up the cultural and faith-based differences that open between the families like a yawning chasm.
鈥淵ou People鈥 grasps at cultural relevance, but does so with a heavy, although well-intentioned, hand. As the run time moves towards the closing credits, the misunderstandings and accentuation of differences becomes repetitive, miring down the story, despite the efforts of the cast.
The comedy pros keep it as fleet footed as it can be. Only Murphy could get a laugh with a line like, 鈥淵ou shat your slacks?鈥 and I was happy to take the giggles where I could as the movie wound down to its Rom Com 101 ending.
鈥淵ou People鈥 doesn鈥檛 exactly waste its bold face name cast鈥攖here are some very funny moments within鈥攂ut the film鈥檚 predictable finish blunts much of the edgy/awkward humour that came before.
SHOTGUN WEDDING: 2 ½ STARS
Jennifer Lopez walks a similar path to Marie Osmond in 鈥淛enny from the Block鈥檚鈥 new Amazon Prime action comedy. Marie is a little bit country, and a little bit rock 鈥榥 roll, while 鈥淪hotgun Wedding鈥 showcases Jennifer鈥檚 duality, a little bit of amore, and a little bit of adrenaline.
When we first meet Darcy (Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) it is the night before their elaborate Philippine destination wedding. Family and friends, played by funny people like Jennifer Coolidge, Cheech Marin, D'Arcy Carden and Sônia Braga, and Darcy鈥檚 hunky ex-boyfriend (Lenny Kravitz), come from far and wide to celebrate the big day.
鈥淚鈥檝e been looking forward to this moment,鈥 says Carol (Coolidge), 鈥渟ince Tommy was cut out of my belly.鈥
Trouble is, Tom is too focused on the details. In his effort to make everything seamless, he overlooks the most important element of the day, his bride-to-be. 鈥淲hat if the wedding isn鈥檛 perfect? What if your parents never like me?鈥
As friction develops between the couple, on another part of the island the entire wedding party is taken hostage by pirates who want the fortune held by the bride鈥檚 father.
Separated from the group, the couple must play a dangerous game of till death do us part to save their loved ones and their relationship.
鈥淭his weekend hasn鈥檛 exactly gone to plan,鈥 Tom says. 鈥淧irates chasing you wasn鈥檛 on your vision board鈥 replies Darcy.
鈥淪hotgun Wedding鈥 is a bit of a rollercoaster, and not in a good way. A jumbled mix of slapstick and action, of comedy and relationship drama, it careens through the story so quickly, with no tether to any kind of reality, that it becomes positively whiplash inducing.
Despite the likability of the topline cast, it feels as though it mixes the worst elements from the various genres that make up the story. A combination of the predictability of a rom com and some lame, light action (although a surprisingly high body count for a wedding movie), it has a bit of everything except suspense or deep laughs.
INFINITY POOL: 3 ½ STARS
鈥淚nfinity Pool,鈥 the new horror film from director Brandon Cronenberg, now playing in theatres, takes place in the beach resort of your dreams鈥 if you are prone to nightmares.
The action in 鈥淚nfinity Pool鈥 takes place against a sun-drenched all-inclusive beach resort in the fictional country of Li Tolqa. The exclusive, and very pricey, vacation spot offers a safe and secluded place for the wealthy to wine, dine and have fun. Imagine a kinkier 鈥淲hite Lotus.鈥
Just don鈥檛 go beyond the barbed wire gates.
That鈥檚 a lesson James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) learn too late. He鈥檚 a writer, looking for inspiration; she is his wife, an heiress to a publishing fortune. Their lives take a turn when they meet Gabi (Mia Goth) and Al (Jalil Lespert), an adventurous couple who convince them to leave the compound for a beachside BBQ. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one day,鈥 James says. 鈥淟et鈥檚 mix things up a bit.鈥
Some grilled sausage and a graphic sex scene later, it鈥檚 night. Time to pile into the car and return to the resort. On the way James accidentally hits and kills a local man. Distraught, he wants to call the police.
鈥淣o police,鈥 says Gabi. 鈥淒o you know anything about the police in Li Tolqa? This isn鈥檛 a civilized country. It鈥檚 brutal and it is filthy. We鈥檙e not getting picked up for this.鈥
They skedaddle, but soon enough the law catches up with them, questioning Em and arresting James for murder. After a night in jail, he is sentenced. 鈥淗ere, the punishment for any crime committed is death.鈥
But even though Li Tolqa is an eye for an eye kind of place, the rules are different for wealthy tourists. By law someone must atone for the crime, but instead of putting James to death, they offer to make a clone of him. The replica will have his memories and will believe it is being killed for James鈥檚 crimes.
It is agreed the son of the dead man will even the score by killing the clone. Justice and vengeance will have been served. But there is a caveat. James and Em must watch the execution. After that, they鈥檙e free to go, with the clone鈥檚 ashes in hand. 鈥淐onsider it a souvenir.鈥
Trouble is, James doesn鈥檛 want to leave.
鈥淚nfinity Pool鈥 is a deep dive into depravity. Sensuality, violence and horror merge, as death becomes a spectator sport, sex becomes hallucinogenic as James becomes seduced by the hedonism of Li Tolqa and his new friends.
Fittingly, there is an unhinged quality to the filmmaking. In a story where anything could happen, and often does, director Brandon Cronenberg ups the debauchery with slick filmmaking, gorgeous cinematography from Karim Hussain and the kind of nihilism not seen since the days of Michael Haneke's 鈥淔unny Games.鈥
By design it is an unpleasant movie, a Grand-Guignol commentary on the privilege of wealth and the evil men do. Blood鈥攁nd other bodily fluids鈥攕purt, cruelty is celebrated and the moral compass is left spinning. It is, in its reflection of the foulness of society, also kind of a singular cinematic experience.
We will see better performances this year, but I doubt that we will see two more committed performances than the ones handed in by Skarsgård and Goth. As James, Skarsgård has few boundaries, pushing the character to disturbing places. Goth is the personification of bored debauchery; a person who treats heartlessness as recreation.
鈥淚nfinity Pool鈥檚鈥 mix of sadism and satire will not be for everyone. The gratuitous grotesqueries on display will put many viewers off, but adventurous moviegoers may find something new and compelling in Cronenberg鈥檚 nightmarish visio
