The Netflix most-watched list has been frequently changing throughout January, and the most recent movie to claim the No.1 spot is a new comedy that stars Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill and Jula Louis-Dreyfus.
The film is called You People, and it's taken the top spot after just a few days on the streaming service. It displaces Norwegian war movie Narvik which topped the charts last week. Right now the rest of the top five is rounded out by Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Oscar-favorite All Quiet on the Western Front and family-feature Sing 2.
If you’ve got You People in your watchlist and are considering a watch this week, we’ve got all the details you need to know down below to help make your decision whether to skip or stream…
What is You People about?
Directed by Kenya Barris, creator of ABC’s black-ish, and co-written by Barris and Jonah Hill, You People is a thoroughly modern comedy. It focuses on a couple trying to navigate the hot waters of modern love and family dynamics while dealing with clashing cultures, societal expectations and generational differences.
You People opens with Ezra Cohen (Hill) meeting Amira Mohammed (Lauren London). Flashforward six months and the loved-up pair are on the verge of engagement. Erza decides to seek permission from her parents Akbar (Eddie Murphy) and Fatima (Nia Long), and well that’s where things start to go wrong.
While Akbar attempts to push Erza to breaking point in the hopes of proving he’s not worthy of marrying his daughter, Ezra’s parents, Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Arnold (David Duchovny), quickly enter the mix and have their own thoughts on the pending nuptials.
Can this young(ish) couple survive the ultimate relationship tests or will their different backgrounds prove too big a hurdle to overcome?
You People review: What do critics say?
You People has not been warmly received by critics. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the rom-com has pulled a pretty disappointing score of just 45%. And its audience rating isn’t any better currently at an equally underwhelming 43%. At least critics and viewers seem to agree on this one!
Wendy Ide of The Observer felt the first third of the film was “promising, if frequently excruciating” but that overall “the points are painfully labored and the jokes run out of steam.” Meanwhile, Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com was even more cutting labeling You People “a movie that so rarely rings true it starts to make your skin crawl.”
Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips praised the work of Murphy and noted that without him the film would be “all strain and little gain.” CT Jones of Rolling Stone also offered a negative write-up saying: “The film can’t figure out if it wants to be a love story or social commentary, and ends up doing neither very well.”
Luke Thompson of AV Club was similarly far from impressed: “You People is a perfect movie for Netflix because it’s best watched for the first half hour and then turned off, which Netflix will count as a view anyway."
But not all critics were so harsh. Lisa Kennedy of the New York Times was a little more positive arguing that “[You People] goes from prickly to something warmer and at times winning."
You People outlook — should you skip or stream?
There’s no escaping the fact that You People hasn’t received the warmest reception compared to some other Netflix movies in recent months. It certainly won’t be making the list of Netflix movies with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes anytime soon. And it’s not just critics giving it a poor writeup either, it's viewer scores are far from impressive.
However, Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill are two very talented comedic actors, and by many accounts, they do elevate the movie above what it could have been. So, if you’re looking for a no-frills rom-com to keep you entertained, but also thinking a little bit, You People seems to be just about worth a watch.
However, we don’t expect it to keep hold of the Netflix No.1 spot for too long. The competition is fierce and You People might not quite have the legs for a lengthy reign.
