You People was one of Netflix’s most anticipated movies of 2023. The film was written by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill, who also stars in the movie. The comedy-drama explores the issues that might arise when two people from different races, religions and cultures fall in love and have to contend with the misunderstandings that come with blending families from different worlds. With its star-studded cast featuring Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, Lauren London, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nia Long, Sam Jay, and David Duchovny, You People had a lot to live up to.

The Plot of the Netflix Movie You People

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You People is a comedy-drama that follows the story of Ezra Cohen (played by Jonah Hill), a 35-year-old white Jewish man who works in finance but whose passion is the podcast that he hosts with his best friend Mo (played by Sam Jay) and Amira Mohammed (played by Lauren London), a Black Muslim woman as they fall in love and navigate the intricacies of an interracial relationship.

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As their relationship becomes serious, Ezra and Amira decide it’s time to meet each other’s parents. Neither of their meetings with each other’s parents goes well, but the couple is determined to make it work. As the movie progresses, their parents meet, resulting in a disastrous dinner fueled by cultural differences, generational divides, and societal expectations.

A Modern-Day Meet Cute

After a failed date with a woman his mother sets him up with, Ezra seems to have given up on relationships, but it turns out his luck is about to change. In a modern-day meet cute, Ezra mistakenly gets in Amira’s car, thinking she is his Uber driver. Upon seeing Ezra in her car, Amira starts attacking him and accuses him of being racist.

When they clear up the misunderstanding, Ezra offers to take Amira where she is going as she doesn’t know the area well and then asks her on a date. As they go on a series of dates, the two bond over their love of sneakers and music and make their relationship official.

Meeting the Parents

Meeting your partner’s parents is never easy, but add in a tone-deaf and meddlesome mum, and what results is an awkward conversation; consider You People the much raunchier, less important modern version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. After six months of dating, Ezra takes Amira to meet his family, forewarning her that his family is crazy. When Ezra’s mom, Shelley (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), meets Amira, she is happy that her son finally found someone he loves.

However, during their meeting, the cultural and racial divide begins to show as Miss Shelley makes inappropriate and sometimes cringe-worthy comments to Amira. To her credit, Amira takes these comments well, because she understands that Miss Shelly is not racist, just ignorant.

After deciding to propose to Amira, Ezra has one last hurdle to cross before they can embark on their happily ever after; meeting Amira’s parents and asking for her hand in marriage. Eddie Murphy plays the role of Akbar Mohammed, Amira’s dad, a black Muslim man who is less than thrilled that his daughter is dating a white Jewish man. And Nia Long plays the role of Fatima Mohammed, Amira’s mom.

Unfortunately, the meeting with Amira’s parents does not go according to plan. Akbar does not like Ezra from the time he lays eyes on him because Ezra is not the type of man he wants his daughter to end up with, and Amira’s mum does nothing to support Ezra. But Ezra forges on with his plan despite the hostility from Akbar because he genuinely loves Amira and wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

A Clash of Cultures

In an effort to understand each other’s families more before they get married, Ezra and Amira decide that their parents should meet. Needless to say, the dinner is off to an awkward start. The dinner progresses from awkward to uncomfortable as their parents engage in the oppression Olympics. The argument starts to heat up when Shelley declares that Jews were the “OG slaves,” and it does not go down well with Amira’s parents. The subject of who will officiate Ezra and Amira’s wedding comes up, and another disagreement ensues. Ezra’s parents want their rabbi to do it, while Amira’s parents want their imam to marry them.

Their parents’ disagreements begin to cause tension in Ezra and Amira’s relationship, so they decide the best thing to do is for them to spend some quality time with each other’s parents. Akbar puts all his effort into trying to prove that Ezra is not the right man for his daughter instead of getting to know him. He takes Ezra to a local basketball court, hoping he will fail, but Ezra excels at it, leaving Akbar disappointed.

When that plan fails, Akbar follows Ezra to his bachelor party, hoping to catch him doing something he shouldn’t be doing so that he can report back to Amira. Shelley and Amira’s meeting does not go well either. When they go to a spa together, Shelley mistakenly accuses the receptionist of being racist, which leaves Amira feeling uncomfortable.

Love Conquers All

During their rehearsal dinner, Ezra bravely confronts Akbar and accuses him of setting him up to fail from the time they met because he will never live up to Akbar’s expectations. Amira also confronts Shelley and accuses her of treating her like a toy. Ezra and Amira’s relationship looks like it’s destined to fail, and they decide to break up because their parents can’t get along. During Ezra and Amira’s break-up, Shelley and Akbar start talking and realize they screwed up their kids’ relationship. So they invite Ezra and Amira out under pretenses.

Akbar apologizes to Ezra for not giving him a chance, and Shelley apologizes to Amira for treating her like a toy. Ezra and Amira get back together and get married in a ceremony their parents planned for them, with both a rabbi and an imam officiating. You People is proof that despite two people coming from different races, cultures, and religions, love can conquer all.

Talking about race, religion, and culture is not an easy thing to do; someone will always be offended. But Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill do it in a humorous way while providing insightful commentary on modern-day relationships, race and religion. There might not be a lot of romantic scenes in You People, and it may have some controversial jokes, but it is still a heartwarming love story that is enjoyable to watch. So if you are in the mood for pop culture references, a dash of romance and a little comedy, then you should check out You People. You People is currently available for streaming on Netflix.