Step in the Name of Love (Southside With You, 2016)

No one in my family has been able to see Southside With You. Yes, it is precisely because we live in a rectangle made of farmland and probably because who in their right mind would show something positive about Barack and Michelle Obama in my town? I mean really, haven’t they given the Blacks enough???

 So, when a couple of my super smart, melanin-popping friends and I realized that it was playing nearby it was an instant must...and then a week later I spontaneously saw it for a second time with artists who make me even prouder to be a part of the Black intellectual tradition. Absolutely no regrets. 

(Courtesy of the lady at the front desk, the real MVP)

  

(Courtesy of the star of my next film)

Basically, Southside With You is the perfect first date film. (And a big hint to my long line of suitors, the Violet Crown is like my favorite place in Charlottesville. Bougie and indie? Oh. It’s lit.) Or…if you’re me and my comrades, it’s just really darn cute. Seeing Black love on screen is so refreshing. It’s beautiful. It’s magical. It’s rich and its hopeful. This was especially true because the film followed our President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama on their first “date.” I love stories that span a single day.

Before seeing it, I was honestly a little skeptical. I mean, really, a movie about the leader of the free world while he’s still in office? It was one of those things where I didn’t really expect much, but had to go see it to support Queen Michelle and all of her Princeton graduate slayage. Also, I’m a believer in supporting Black films in general as long as I have no deep moral or political opposition to it. I’ll want someone to support me. It’ll be my job to keep them coming back. But, I digress. 

This film made me feel the way I do when I watch Pretty in Pink. I was able to find nostalgia in lives I’ve never lived. I was rooting for them, I was curious about them. I was falling in love with our President right along with Michelle. It’s one where you just sort of sit there and smile. Its beauty is found in its simplicity--a whimsical and thoughtful exploration of a single day, one specific moment in time. 

This was a really nice break from the more serious and complex films that I have been watching, partially, because I made the choice not to over analyze this one—I desperately needed to chill. Sometimes we need a little “ohmygosh this is soooo cute!” in our lives, yeah? However, that is not to say that this film failed to offer opportunities for intellectual engagement. One of the aspects of Southside With You that I enjoyed most was the layering and intertwinement of different artistic mediums. We saw everything from Ernie Barns paintings to Do The Right Thing to free-flowing dance to African drums to Gwendolyn Brooks poetry. I like when art, especially Black art, is in conversation with other art. It speaks to our collective struggle and psyche. Visually and cerebrally, this film was an elegant collage that had the unforgettable swagger of Mr. Obama himself. 

(Courtesy of shadowandact.com)

Between the swooning, I did, however, have a few critiques. I was consistently bothered by the fact that this film made me feel claustrophobic. There were just so many tight and close-up shots. We only got wide establishing shots, which to me is a bit of a shame. As someone who lived on the Southside for a while, I think that not using the environment to inform the story is a missed opportunity. It’s in the title, after all. I’m 10 years removed from the city and still it finds a way to enter so much of my writing. The film desperately needed to open up visually. Which brings me to my second critique: this movie was way too dialogue heavy. The backstories and emotions depended far too much on words. At moments, it was like I was reading some futuristic textbook on the Obama’s lives. I also found myself thinking occasionally, “Do people really talk like that? I mean, the Obamas are the Obamas but…do people really talk like that?” Lastly, Tika Sumpter’s attempt at a Chicago accent was cringe worthy. Whereas, Parker Sawyers did a great job at integrating the President’s iconic dialect into his speech patterns, Sumpter seemed more like she was doing an unnatural impression of the First Lady. 

(Courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com)

With those things said, I’d still call the movie good, not great, but good. Cuteness can overshadow a lot. The first time I saw Southside With You it put me in that headspace where I have to go watch another cute movie (brb going to find Brown Sugar). The second time, it made me want to make art myself. And, honestly, emotional pull is a mark of success in my book. Inspiring me to create things is an even bigger mark. I wish I could have seen the rest of the Obama love story, but... well, you know how it ends.