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Southside With You

Play trailer 2:30 Poster for Southside With You PG-13 Released Aug 26, 2016 1h 21m Romance Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 162 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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Southside With You

Southside With You

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (286) audience reviews
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 Full Review Bright M Beautiful movie that I return to time and again Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/24/22 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Mario C Fabricated story. Horrible. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/15/21 Full Review Read all reviews
Southside With You

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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
Columbia Records, IM Global, State Street Pictures, Roadside Attractions
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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