'Southside With You' Clip: Michelle and Barack Flirt and Joust on Their First Date (Exclusive)
President Barack Obama may be finishing up the final year of his eight-year Oval Office tenure. But as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump continue to battle it out for the hearts and minds of Americans, the 44th commander-in-chief will continue to occupy a prime place in the American imagination, at least partly due to this week’s Southside With You, a romantic drama about his first date with future wife Michelle. And we now have an exclusive new clip from the film above.
Related: Inside the Obama First Date Movie ‘Southside With You’
In this early scene from first-time writer-director Richard Tanne’s film, Barack (Parker Sawyers) and Michelle (Tika Sumpter) take a leisurely stroll through a Chicago park, during which she informs her suitor — who’s apparently been trying to get her out for weeks — that her work ethic comes from her father, who taught her, from an early age, the value of a good education. It’s merely a glimpse of their first date, which took place in the summer of 1989 in Chicago when both were working at a top law firm, and which included a visit to the city’s Art Institute, a showing of Do the Right Thing and a stop at an ice cream parlor.
Related: Sundance Report: ‘Southside With You’ Reimagines the Obamas’ Delightful First Date
Southside — which is structured as a sort of talkative Before Sunrise-style walkabout — earned high praise when it premiered at Sundance in January: Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter gave it glowing reviews while acknowledging that if it had been released during either of Obama’s presidential campaigns, it could easily be viewed as political propaganda. According to comments made by director Tanne in January (via Vanity Fair), he’s heard that the real-life First Couple are apparently “excited” about the film, if somewhat “baffled” by its very existence.
Southside With You debuts in theaters Aug. 26. You can watch our exclusive clip from the film above, its full-length trailer below, and an earlier exclusive scene from the film here.
