People have been feeling very nostalgic about Obama’s presidency of late, and even though we’re not American we still have all the love for him. It seems Netflix do too, and are releasing a film about young Barack’s time at college in New York.
The movie, Barry, will be released on Netflix on December 16th, and features Australian actor Devon Terrell as the man himself. And we have to say, the resemblance is pretty good. The actor portrays Obama’s time at Columbia University in 1981, where he’s struggling to find his identity, navigate relationships, and deal with racism.
Before you start complaining that you’ve never heard anyone call Barack Obama ‘Barry’ ever, and isn’t that a kind of informal nickname to give to the 44th president of the United States, Barack actually went by the name when he was in college. He told his family and friends to use his given name after he graduated for reasons that haven’t been fully explained. Some have postured that he was trying to renew ties with his heritage (his African father was also called Barack), or wanted to reinvent himself. Even so, it’s kind of weird to see a young Obama dancing in a club looking super 80s and being called Barry. He also seems to flirt with a woman who is DEFINITELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE MICHELLE OBAMA, and that hurts our hearts a bit.
The film, directed by Vikram Gandhi, was shown at the Toronto Film Festival this year, and thanks to Lord Netflix will be available for us lowly commoners in just a few weeks. The director told the A.V Club 'He’s been the underdog throughout the whole time he’s president…so much of what’s happened is about him being black. You don’t want to believe that because you can’t believe it because it seems so fucked up. He’s still fighting this battle while he’s the leader of the free world.'
It’s fitting that we’re finding these films being put forward right now given the wave of 'Obama nostalgia,' Gandhi said. 'I think that is something we are all going to miss. I just never imagined that we would miss him so much because I never imagined a man named Trump would ever be possibly elected.' Nor did we Vikram, nor did we.
Here’s to curling up on December 16th, eating ice cream, and watching ‘Barry’ to block out everything shit happening in the world.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.