Premiering to largely positive reviews at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year Southside with You is writer/director Richard Tanne's chronicling of the summer 1989 afternoon where the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady on an epic first date across Chicago's South Side. No matter your stance on Obama's presidency it is difficult to deny the charm in this first trailer for the film that shows what our current President was like on the precipice of his thirtieth birthday. There are of course hints as to what lies ahead for the couple, but in knowing that eventually the reluctant Michelle (played here by Tika Sumpter) gives into the charms of Obama (Parker Sawyers) the film doesn't seem to be concentrated on the will they/won't they aspect that most romantic comedies do, but rather the facets of the individuals that make them a good match for one another. In many of the reviews out of Sundance the film drew comparisons to Richard Linklater's romantic Before trilogy that uses the events of a single day to define multiple years of the central couples life. If Tanne's film has any of the insight and honesty present in Linklater's series it will certainly be something to be on the lookout for, not to mention the couple at the center of the film being one of intense public interest. Either way, this trailer has me sold on the film as it certainly has a very particular tone and feel to it that serves to separate it from all of the other summer offerings at the multiplex this year. With a great, natural aesthetic (it was shot on location in Chicago) and the two leads seeming to channel their real life characters without doing silly imitations while also having great chemistry I look forward to getting to know the Obama's a little better. Southside with You also stars Vanessa Bell Calloway, Phillip Edward Van Lear, Deborah Geffner, Taylar Fondren, Preston Tate Jr., Jerod Haynes, Fred Nance Jr., Donald Paul, Tom McElroy, and opens on August 26th, 2016.
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