Below is a brief review of Southside with you, the movie starring Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers. It is a movie about Michelle and Barack Obama's first date. I will express my feelings on the lack of attendanceand make a push for people to go see the movie (no I am not getting paid for this lol).

Ok, so I posted this to my Facebook on Friday while in the movie theatre:

"So, I'm checking out Southside with you and it's literally 8 people in the theatre. Word?? Probably the same thing with Hands of stone, the new movie that Usher and Robert Deniro is in. Usher is playing Sugar Ray Leonard. Now, I'm not sure if its because people are broke, lack of promotion, lack of interest, but its got me wondering..." with the "feeling thoughtful" emoticon.

Many people responded saying that it was lack of promotion which is true but I also felt it was due, in large, by lack of interest. We don't usually see films about black people in loving, successful relationships. This was my response to one of the commenters:

"I'm going to put my bid and say lack of interest as well. Movies about black folks in loving, successful relationships don't usually receive that much notoriety or its barely on the screen. I'll be doing research and writing on it on my website."

Will Smith has said:

"There's sort of an accepted myth that if you have two black actors, a male and a female, in the lead of a romantic comedy, that people around the world don't want to see it."

While doing research for this topic, I googled "Black love movies in worldwide theatres" and "Movies with black actors as the love interest". Sites like BET.com and Madameniore.com which are sites catered to black audiences, had some hits but there seems to be no interest on other platforms for this information. Movies such as Why did I get married (2007), Just Wright (2010) and Jumping the Broom (2011), Think Like a man (2012) are definitely movies that touch on the subject of black love but way more films with all white actors/actresses have come out about love and have received much more success. Many prominent, staple "Black Love" movies are from the 90's or early 2000's and, often times, use the same actors/actresses. This means many black youth grow up without movie depictions of love they can aspire for. When I googled romantic movies and went through the pictures of the movies presented, Hitch starring Eva Mendez and Will Smith, was the only movie involving a black actor to be considered in that category. Come on son! Netflix has many more movies and selections for one to choose from, thankfully, but I enjoy the full on movie theatre experience. If the pickings are slim for African American youth, I can only imagine its even more slim for youth of Hispanic, Latin origin and possibly nonexistent for Asian youth. REPRESENTATION MATTERS!

Back to Southside with you,

I was disappointed at the outcome at first but then gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. After all, I caught a 9:30pm show and my experience was just that, my experience. I vowed to check out and report back on how the film did on its opening weekend. After looking at multiple sites and reviewing box office data, the movie didn't do as well as it could have. Ranking at number 13 in theatres, I was pretty disappointed.

Southside is set in 1989 but is very relatable to the issues Americans face everyday in regards to socio economic and political climates. Though it boasts itself as a romantic film, it also remains true to the genre of drama. Set in Chicago, many issues that Chicagoans and residents of inner cities face are touched upon in the film. It also explores gender roles which can be considered romantic or problematic depending on the viewer. What I appreciate about it is the art, music (I love "old school" music) and the purposeful directing. The directors made sure to capture certain moments and imagery, purposefully, for the viewer's enjoyment. (SPOILER) It pays homage to greats such as Ernie Barnes, Gwendolyn Brooks and many more. I appreciate that it is a film that really takes you through what a first date consist of, that awkward meeting phase, the awkward silence and how uncomfortable things may get when talking about subjects such as family, education and pop culture. It's not cheesy as many romantic comedies appear to be and is very relatable for all people no matter ethnic background. If you haven't already, please check out this film. If you have, leave some comments about your thoughts on the film!