Barry (2016)

A look into the early life of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Director:

Vikram Gandhi

Writer:

Adam Mansbach

Stars:

Devon Terrell, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Mitchell

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Devon Terrell	...	Barry
Anya Taylor-Joy	...	Charlotte
Jason Mitchell	...	PJ
Ellar Coltrane	...	Will
Jenna Elfman	...	Kathy Baughman
Linus Roache	...	Bill Baughman
Avi Nash	...	Saleem
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Professor Gray
Ashley Judd	...	Ann Dunham
Sawyer Pierce	...	Thad
Eric Berryman	...	Ali
Ralph Rodriguez	...	Andre
Danny Henriquez	...	Milton
Tessa Albertson	...	Tina
Tommy Nelson	...	Buzz

Storyline

A look at the early life of Barack Obama. Before he became President of the United States, he was one of the few black students at Columbia University NY in the early 80's. Faced with judgmental and racist opinions all around him, he tries to find his place in the world.

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | bare chested male | barack obama character | character name as title | nickname as title | 

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Taglines:

Before he was Barack, he was...

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Black Bear Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili

Release Date:

16 December 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Μπάρι

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Bear Pictures, Cinetic Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The nick-name of Barack Obama (Devon Terrell) in his earlier years was "Barry" which is this movie's title.

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Goofs

Barry is seen wearing a Casio F91W watch throughout the movie. The movie is set in the early 1980's, but that model watch wasn't released until 1991.

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Quotes

James Boggs: You take the baton from the ones who've come before you, and you carry it as far as you can. And then you hand it off
Grace Lee Boggs: That's life. A beautiful struggle.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Kevin James/Michael B. Jordan/Bon Iver (2016)

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Soundtracks

Dance This Mess Around (Party Mix Version)
Written and Performed by The B-52's
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc. and Island Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Lost in Translation

Barry simply put is the early years of Barack Obama in New York and his struggles trying to fit himself among the people there. Simply put, it his the identity crises caused because of his mixed ethnicity.

Its a beautiful story on paper but in the hands of director Vikram Gandhi, this is a story lost in translation.

The movie starts of well as the young Barack moves into New York with a serious identity crisis. It is shown that he never as such connected with his Dad in Kenya, his years in Manila have changed him and he questions the things around him. He cannot mix with either the blacks or the whites. He has a nice sweet white girlfriend but due to the crisis inside him, he starts to move away from here. And he has loving mother beautifully played by Ashley Judd who tells him that all will be fine one day.

However, the writing is inconsistent and we are never ever able to understand or feel the chaos inside Obama. At some places the story is drifting and I was wondering what is happening. However, the ending saves the film from being a total washout.

Devon Terrell is a good actor and its too early for me to judge him through this film since the writing and directing are not upto the mark. He does put up a nice performance and I hope to see more of him soon.

The rest of the cast puts a commendable performance and the movie is worth a visit on a lazy Sunday afternoon.