Southside With You

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In the thick of the Chicago summer of 1989 two people went on a first date, marking the beginning of one of history’s most famous couples. It was Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date. But the First Lady, then Michelle Robinson, a 25-year-old lawyer, was insistent it was only a meeting between colleagues.

We’re sadly approaching the end of Barack Obama’s presidency, and following last night’s White House Correspondence Dinner, the first trailer for Southside With You has arrived in timely fashion. The sweet indie romance flick takes us back in time to 1989, when a young Barack met his future wife, Michelle, and took her on their very first date — well, according to her, it wasn’t actually a date (but it kind of was).

Many directors have immortalized and dramatized the lives of our U.S. presidents on film throughout the years—even Oliver Stone made ‘W.,’ a movie about George W. Bush while Bush was still in office. But typically these films revolve around the actual work of being a president, or the scandals and tragedies that have befallen our leaders. A new movie based on President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will take a very different approach, telling the romantic story of their very first date.