Bronx Obama (2014) User Reviews

Really Fun Doc!........

[MovieHoliks · 7/10 · 30 July 2015]

I just saw this really fun documentary off Showtime last night about a man who realizes he has a striking resemblance to another guy that just happens to be running for the most powerful office in the world- the future president of the USA- Barack Obama! He then decides to cash in on this resemblance, get an agent, and hit the road doing events getting paid!

At first, I didn't think he looked that much like Obama, but then later on with the suit on, and the facial hair gone, there were times when he is the spitting image! He joined some other presidential look-alike hopefuls on the road. I definitely did not think the Romney lookalike was very good. Now the Clinton one was already a quasi-celebrity- had showed up on like The Tonight Show and other shows many times. You'll probably recognize him. The Donald Trump one was pretty bad. It was funny- they had a whole group of impersonators together who all got to meet the Dalai Lama, and the Nelson Mandela impersonator actually looked more like Morgan Freeman than the real Mandela! LOL

This doc. was also interesting how this guy, while transforming himself into Obama, actually starts to think more about world issues, and ultimately becomes more politically active in the process. I would definitely give this movie a watch when you get a chance! Thumbs up!

Interesting slice of real life

[khill-28955 · 7/10 · 29 August 2016]

This movie held our attention which surprised me given that we know the outcome of the 2012 election. What I thought was most interesting was the perspective of a down-on-his-luck, blue-collar worker who fell into the role of a lifetime and his luck to have as friends and to have crossed paths with a very interesting set of men (as far as I could tell, there were no women in this impersonator business.)

So there's a motif of smoking throughout the movie which may not have been intentional but I see smoking as a self-damaging behavior, sort of like the way that all these characters (except the lovely daughter) were portrayed. We couldn't understand why Luis was having so much problem identifying and correcting the speech patterns that gave away his Bronx heritage. Was he just not smart enough to learn how to overcome those speech patterns? Was his coach just focusing on the things he could do to sound like Obama and letting the little things go? I never thought he was very convincing and it doesn't seem to be that hard to have mastered this given the time he had to work on it. Perhaps if he spent less time smoking....

More sad than funny

[pwpw63 · 2/10 · 22 February 2015]

There was something surreal about this film. Not sure what the writer was going for but there is such a big difference between the Clinton impersonator and Obama's.

Yes, this man does look a lot like the president and he is good enough to perform well. But, his two white guy "handlers" who seem kind of red neck and some of the audiences he is performing for (libertarians, who've become more blue dog Dems or teapartiers) is embarrassing. The fact that this man is doing this because he needs the money so bad, has a family he is trying to help is not funny. His private comments reveal what his motives are and he is smart enough and honest enough to talk about his feelings about welfare. And he worked to get off of it, which is what most who are on it do, even though many people, esp. conservatives don't know this. The most real moments are where he is talking about he won't "be disrespected"... but the set up of this such that this seems inevitable. The way it's played for the laughs and to the kinds of audiences, is somehow reminiscent of the old Amos and Andy....it made me angry..and I'm white. I like and respect our president...I'm not happy with some things, esp. what's happened with whistleblowers and our criminal "criminal justice system" winning the prize for most non-violent people in our prisons than Russia and China put together. But he has, in spite of the most extreme opposition ever from the teapartiers and Repubs together being the party of "no" and fighting him tooth and nail on every attempt he has made to push us further, made some progress.

An Awesome Story

[dustytreasures2003 · 10/10 · 22 November 2014]

I accidentally happened upon the documentary "Bronx Obama" this morning at 5:00 a.m. on Showtime. Not only was it captivating to watch this young man evolve into a role of, in my opinion, the best president of my lifetime. The director, Ryan Murdock, was awesome. I just loved it. Not being familiar with the content or outcome of the documentary, I found myself wanting him to succeed throughout the entire film...and he did. I thought the way his wife and daughter were portrayed was such a heartwarming tribute to his true character. Just a good piece of what went into the making of his career as the impersonator of our president...Loved it!