Southside With You

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2:30

Southside With You

PG-13

2016

1h 21m

Romance

Biography

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

159 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Future U.S. President Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) and lawyer Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) go on a fateful first date in the summer of 1989.

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Critics Consensus

Southside With You looks back on a fateful real-life date with strong performances and engaging dialogue, adding up to a romance that makes for a pretty good date movie in its own right.

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Nell Minow

AWFJ.org

Southside With You is the falling-in-love movie most films handle with a pop song and a montage, smart, touching, lovely.

Nov 4, 2021

Full Review

Emma Jones

Independent (UK)

[Southside with you] should make stars of [Parker] Sawyers and [Tika] Sumpter.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 30, 2017

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Sumpter and Sawyers have beautifully captured all the smallest details about the larger than life, real-life characters they portray.

Rated: A-

Mar 21, 2017

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Perhaps I’m looking at it all wrong. Maybe it should only be viewed as a lightweight romantic date movie, but I’m not convinced it works through that lens either.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 25, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Watching these two classy and intelligent people, we wonder if someone will make a similar movie about Trump, showing him taking his first dates to wrestling matches instead of art galleries and ending the nights by grabbing 'em by the -- well, you know.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 3, 2021

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

A tribute to the performances is that we look at the characters as people and not caricatures of famous people.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 1, 2021

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Richard S

There are very few films that I just give up before the ending. I was just so freaking bored. You'd think from all the praise this film has that it would be far more engaging. And then I look at the verified audience reviews ... and there are none, and it makes a whole lot more sense. So many of the reviews I see are generic praises, but few actually go into detail to explain why. I imagine that if you are one of those people that have unconditional love for the Obamas then you'll have a chance at enjoying it. And without the high praise given and thus high expectations I might have thought of it as a nice mediocre cable movie channel that would still bore me, but not offend me as much.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/31/23

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Bright M

Beautiful movie that I return to time and again

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/24/22

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andre l

Oh dear lord... why. A lot of nonsense in the film and a lot of conveniently omitted facts as well. On its own, it was a below average film, add in two of the most corrupt and moral free race hustlers, and it sinks to another level. The acting was decent, but the characters did NOT look anything like their counter parts. Don't waist your time on seeing this unless you are an absolute Obama sycophant. Other than that, there's no real value here.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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isla s

This is a relatively arty film at times, with Barrack and Michelle taking in an art exhibition and commenting about how coloured people were regarded by society at certain times. Tonally, its quite a subtle film but I liked that and it makes sense, given obviously the characters have no idea what is to become of them in future years (i.e. becoming US President and First Lady). Its a somewhat thoughtful film, which shows Barack's public speaking already being quite good, his ability to relate to others and to enthuse people to join a local cause and make a difference is depicted. I enjoyed this film and would recommend it to others.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Snoozer. The fateful day that Barack and Michelle met...but really just a long political conversation with itself. The only conflict is Michelle not wanting to be on a date or being seen as squandering her hard work. Yawn.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Mario C

Fabricated story. Horrible.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/15/21

Full Review

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Richard Tanne

Director

Tika Sumpter

Michelle Robinson

Parker Sawyers

Barack Obama

Vanessa Bell Calloway

Marian Robinson

Jerod Haynes

Tommy

Alex Zelenka

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Southside with You: Trailer 1

2:30

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Synopsis

Future U.S. President Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) and lawyer Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) go on a fateful first date in the summer of 1989.

Director: Richard Tanne
Producer: Robert Teitel, Tika Sumpter, Richard Tanne
Screenwriter: Richard Tanne
Distributor: Roadside Attractions, Miramax Films
Production Co: IM Global, Roadside Attractions, Columbia Records, State Street Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (A Violent Image|A Drug Reference|Brief Strong Language|Smoking)
Genre: Romance, Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 26, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.3M
Runtime: 1h 21m

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