"Southside With You" Recounts Barack And Michelle Obama's First Date
DETROIT (WWJ) - Do you remember your first date with your significant other? A new movie that comes out on Friday takes viewers along on Barack and Michelle Obama's very first date.
The movie, "Southside With You," takes place in the summer of 1989 and stars Tika Sumpter as Michelle Robinson, who at the time was Barack Obama's advisor at a Chicago law firm.
"It's about a girl who's reluctant to call it a date or to even go out with him, and a boy who's after a really smart, beautiful girl," Sumpter told WWJ's Terri Lee while in Metro Detroit as part of the movie's promotional tour.
As you can imagine, Sumpter says when she learned she was going to be portraying Michelle Obama, yes, the pressure was on.
"She's beloved by so many and so you want to do the role justice," Sumpter said. "So, yes, I was a little nervous, but once I pulled back the Michelle Obama person and really just did the south side of Chicago girl at 25, that was when I was able to connect even more."
With the first family loved by so many people, how much pressure does Sumpter feel for the movie to perform well once it opens to the public?
"I don't know if I feel pressure for it to perform well. I think you put it out there and you hope that people want to see themselves on screen, meaning women being the prize -- black women being the prize -- and these two smart people having a real conversation, and I think most people can relate."
Up-and-Coming Actor Takes on the Role of Barack Obama
Starring as Barack Obama is up-and-coming actor Parker Sawyers who actually bears a close resemblance to the president. Although Sumpter has said she doesn't really think she looks like Mrs. Obama, you really get the feeling that you're watching their love story unfold right before your eyes -- in real time.
"We never wanted to imitate them anyway," Sumpter said. "We wanted to embody the essence of who they are, and I feel like onscreen we did that. Like, you could see, okay yeah, that's Michelle and that's Barack ... so hopefully, we did that justice."
Southside With You is a touching, romantic love story that is so very well done, it'll leave you wanting more.
During their interview, Lee asked Sumpter: "At the end, I kind of wanted a paragraph or something that said, 'They lived happily ever after, or something. Why was the decision made not to go a little bit further?'" Sumpter's response: "Because you know the end; they are living happily ever after."
The End.
Follow Terri on Twitter @TerriJLee
Member:
Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA)
Detroit Film Critics Society (DFCS)
African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)
Digital Arts, Film & Television (DAFT)
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
