Movie About The Obamas' First Date Opens, But How Accurate Is The Flick?
(CBS) – Barack and Michelle Obama, America's first couple, are in the spotlight for something that happened here in Chicago decades ago: their first date.
CBS 2 Political Reporter Derrick Blakley reports on the love story that's on the big screen at a theater near you.
President Obama's romance with Michelle is the natural stuff of movies.
But just how much of "Southside with You" is factually true?
Diners at the president's favorite Hyde Park eatery, Valois Cafe, insist facts matter.
"I don't think they should give fictional information about somebody's life, especially when you're thinking about a president," diner Donald Sutton says.
CBS 2 did some fact-checking.
Their date did include a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago.
In the movie, the Chicago Cultural Center stands in for the real museum.
By most accounts, the community meeting they attended on film was added as a dramatic flourish. Still, after taking in a movie, there's no doubt the date ended with ice cream and the couple's first kiss, recreated on film and marked with a plaque at 53rd and Dorchester.
Moviegoers who saw the film Friday said romance mattered more than reality.
"It was just amazing to see an ordinary guy who's currently the president of the United States," Ladonna Dunlap says.
"Great story line, great love story," Debbie Lovelace says.