User reviews

I had not heard of this movie before the lead-up to the Oscars, and I thought that it sounded like an intellectual endeavour that would be important to watch. What I didn't expect was that it would be so much fun - hilarious, in fact!

Jeffrey Wright was spot-on in his depiction of a frustrated academic getting in trouble with his liberal white colleagues and students for being blunt when talking about race. Outside of his job, he's generally grumpy with everything and everyone. But in watching what he has to deal with, we really can't blame him: modern America expects everyone to be ambitious and better themselves, but when Monk does this, he feels like a fish out of water and only gains fans when he pretends to be a "poor boy from the hood".

This movie addresses a lot of issues, covering homophobia, infidelity and grief, as well as racism, but it does so with a light touch. By focusing on characters and entertainment, it enlightens viewers without ever feeling like a lecture.

For reference, I frequently enjoy dumb-fun, mindless movies and watch basically everything superhero-related. You know... the kinds of movies where the writing is rarely the draw. Then I watch something with great writing and feel metaphorical whiplash. The difference is drastic.

Witty dialogue, intriguing story and clever scenarios elevate everything. The cast all give fantastic performances, especially Jeffrey Wright. But for me personally, by far the best attribute is the comedy. I full-volume laughed throughout. And the humor feels entirely original.

My only dislike is a few subplots, like the love life of his brother or the maid, that don't seem to be related to the main plot. They feel out of place and detract from the main story. Otherwise, I found American Fiction to be highly entertaining.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday 1/4/2024)

An author, dejected by the state of society and what readers consider black literature, decides to give the people what they want: a stereotypical black story. What was supposed to be a satirical commentary turns into something more than he ever expected.

This film is an adaptation of the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. The film is a good mix of drama and comedy. One storyline makes fun of how, even though society is becoming more accepting of minorities, it unintentionally marginalizes them by continuing to perpetuate stereotypes. At the same time, another storyline shows an individual struggling with the hardships of life. The film's display of irony makes it an intriguing watch and reflects our current state as a society. This is a great film to watch with friends and discuss afterward.

This is a very thoughtful and entertaining movie. My wife seldom comments much but even a day later she commented on how good it is.

Jeffrey Wright is professor and novelist Thelonious Ellison. His family and close friends call him 'Monk' in honor of the famous jazz musician and composer Thelonious Monk, who died in 1982 at the age of 64.

This Monk takes his writing novels very seriously but is not achieving much success. Meanwhile he encounters another author, a well-educated and well-spoken black woman. However when she reads a portion of her latest popular book, it is all broken English and black slang. He is taken aback, what is going on here?

At some point he decides to spoof the industry, he writes a novel of black characters who use reprehensible language and ghetto slang. He writes it as a joke with a made-up pen name. To his surprise and shock the publishing company loves it, they offer a big sum to publish it, and another company is jockeying for the movie rights.

Reflecting on the story I am a bit loss on how to explain the last half hour of it, but it is overall a very well-made and entertaining movie. Jeffrey Wright is superb in the role.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Prime.

There are a lot of things to like (or that have potential) in American Fiction. It features a strong cast-especially the lead-and is built upon an extremely interesting/entertaining satirical concept. The main problem it faces, however, is that the constant switching back and forth between intense family drama and farcical satire needed to either be better balanced or shifted from one camp to the other a bit more. As-is, the experience is odd/wearisome even if still watchable.

For a very basic overview, American Fiction tells the story of Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a stoic/up-tight writer who wants the Black experience portrayed as more than the usual caricatures or stereotypes. When a new book comes out that panders to that lowest common denominator, Monk is as apoplectic as he is depressed. But with family/money issues on the mind, he (bit-by-bit) gets pulled into writing an "African-American vernacular" piece that-of course-absolutely blows up and causes some severe conflicts of interest.

As written by Percival Everett & Cord Jefferson (also the director), American Fiction is, on one hand, a pretty entertaining satire of Black representation in American culture. Maybe a little on the nose, but that is sort of the overall point of the entire piece. It is easy to laugh at what is transpiring while also reflecting upon how close it creeps to the truth.

On the other hand, American Fiction also wants to be a pretty intense family drama, dealing with weighty issues like depression, mental health (as it applies to aging), and sexual orientation. While these plot-points and themes are not poor by any stretch of the imagination, I'd argue that they take away from the power of the satirical elements. I never made the connection between the wildly different tones-either because I missed some of Jefferson's nuance or it simply wasn't present.

My favorite scene in this movie was seeing Wright go through a physical transformation-intellectual/academic to "street"-walking down a hallway. I wish American Fiction could have tapped into that sort of energy much more than it ultimately did. Because audiences are so used to seeing Wright as the buttoned-up serious actor, highlighting his ability to play any type of role (which is clearly present, even if only in spurts here) would have potentially done wonders.

As it stands, however, American Fiction left me feeling a little confused/hollow as to what the whole experience was all about. It is clearly well-produced and has a professional feel to it so I'd never call it a bad film, but I often felt its best potential qualities were somewhat marginalized in favor of plotlines that didn't seem to pay off in the endgame.

I was looking forward to this. It's as funny as I anticipated and didn't disappoint. I loved the humor, like the way Issa Rae talked about her book, then proceeding to read it. I remember how much and how often the theatre broke out in laughter.

It's a story of a black writer who is tired of society's tend to stereotypes so he writes a crappy novel with intention of purely just trolling, but people eat it up and it becomes a best seller. I think in a way, the movie itself is like that; it tries to divert away from what you'd typically expect from a black story, that sounds weird... from a story based on black characters lol. It reminded me of "The Photograph (2020)," an okay romance movie (with Issa Rae too) that I liked because of its portrayal of a love story between two Black individuals, where the essence of romance took center stage instead being overly focused on their race or any associated struggles.

Loved how it was directed, the subtle yet not so subtle instances of race even though Thelonious. The social commentary was done really well and did not need to be shoved down your face to be effective. The characters are very easy to get invested in, even the ones that are short lived. I've only seen Jeffery Wright in supporting roles but he really nails his performance as a lead here which was great.

It's a film that balances deep emotions with humor, a difficult feat to achieve. Loved how there's a lot going on without the movie feeling overly crowded. It seamlessly combines satire and social commentary with a compelling family drama, and surprisingly, they harmonize flawlessly. Despite not being fast-paced, the film feels tightly packed, dedicating time to explore both themes thoroughly. Moreover, the quick-witted dialogue adds an extra layer of brilliance. Undoubtedly, this stands out as one of my favorite films of the year. The anticipation I had for it was met, and it truly stands as a unique movie.

The movie had great writing, great acting, and a cool vibe. It did an excellent job of capturing and describing the issues black artist have when deciding on what type of art to create. Do you create art that sales, even though you believe it's degrades your race and your culture. Often black artist feels they must create art that depicts negative stereotypes about the black community. You know drug dealers, slaves, deadbeat dads, or trifling baby mommas. But, we are so much more than that. But, unfortunately when black artist creates enlighten black art, often the black community nor other racial communities spend money to watch it. This move would have been great if it would had landed the ending. The ending felt like the author got lazy and ran out of ideas. Close the circle next time.

I was disappointed in Cord Jefferson's 'American Fiction'. And let me quickly get this out of the way; it's possible that my expectations were too high. There was so much buzz about this film during the past month I doubt anything could have lived up to my anticipation. And if that's the case: I'm sorry.

What disappointed me? One, the film's lack of energy; there was, for me, a sort of shuffling through the story as opposed to the characters' taking big broad steps. Then Two, I was surprised at how much of a (dysfunctional) family story this was , as opposed to a story more edgy in a more universal way. And Three, the main character - a novelist - has to learn something about himself over the course of the film, but I'm not convinced that he does. And if he does, I wonder how long it'll last. Worse still, we are told what he will learn early in the film; a Jimmy Walker Scotch Liquor metaphor.

In order to pay his mother's mounting medical bills our black novelist 'Monk' Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) writes a trashy black-exploitation story under a pseudonym. When the book becomes a tremendous success (monetarily) he is faced with owning-up to the fact that he wrote it, or somehow keeping it undercover. First, the fact that he can keep it secret is handled in a most awkward way; something about his being a felon on the run. But more important, this problem puts him at odds with his new girlfriend (a radiant Erika Alexander), his brother (Sterling K. Brown) and mother (Leslie Uggams), other novelists, his agent and publishers, film-makers, but most of all, with himself.

There is a scene early on where two employees of a Publishing House ooh and ahh to Monk about his wonderful (trashy) book. The scene is fantastic. Crisp and clear in its racism, in its total lack of sincerity, in their willingness to sell out for the sake of big bucks. And I wish there were many more scenes like this one. Scenes with the back and forth pacing that proved both edgy and hilarious. There were a couple of such encounters; but too few by far.

Instead we get family problems. A gay brother. A mother with dementia. A sister's early death. A lying and cheating father. None of which, by the way, would be any different were the characters not black. No, what we have is a family of doctors (2) and one novelist. And I'm not altogether certain about whether I'm supposed to like them and, if so, root for their problems to be solved.

But, fact is, it is that lack of (my) caring that kept me at arm's length with 'American Fiction'.

This film was hilarious. I laughed more than I have during a movie in a long time. The commentary about the publishing industry and Hollywood was spot on. The acting was great and character development was well done. People in theater were laughing loudly throughout the film. That is the first time I've been to a film for adults where people were laughing constantly. I loved every moment and wanted the movie to just keep going, will watch again when released for streaming. My favorite part of the film was the commentary around how Americans feel like being "more thuggish" is more black and "real". Often times you see this trope. I want to see a film about stories that haven't been told before. Stop doing the same thing over and over Hollywood. This film is a nice break from the typical film.

"American Fiction" has a great premise, one of the best in any movie this year. And I overall liked it and think it was well made, so I'm rounding my score up to reflect that. But it somehow didn't completely land for me, in a way that I find hard to explain.

I think it was the domestic drama part of the film that didn't completely work for me. The movie spends a lot of time on all the ways that Jeffrey Wright feels overwhelmed by his life's responsibilities, and it sags in some of these parts, and makes the movie feel a little bit like a slog. And I don't know that I ever completely believed the character played by Sterling K. Brown, who never seemed convincing as a gay man. But I did like what the film had to say about the burden placed on black people to constantly be representing black people everywhere that white people never have to deal with. And I also liked the choose your own adventure ending that takes the film into meta territory in its final scenes.

So, solid double for me, but not a home run.

Grade: A-

American Fiction has a very droll premise and many sharp lines, as you'd expect from an adaptation of a Percival Everett novel.

If the overarching drama here is meant to be an example of the more universal human stories that black writers and film-makers want to tell, it doesn't make a fully satisfying whole. The film is about 30 minutes of scabrous satire interrupting 90 minutes of rather tedious and uninvolving famililial stife.

Perhaps that's the even slyer point that Everett and Jefferson are making - that they have the right to be black and boring. If so, it came across to me very effectively, as I was checking my watch constantly in the second hour.

American Fiction is a rightfully angry satire that gets a lot of laughs out of showing how the industry isn't as progressive as it thinks it is. What makes it even better is that it's also a surprisingly investing family drama that is exactly the kind of film it's complaining there aren't enough of.

The only thing that doesn't entirely land is the ending. It's still on point with everything the film has been saying for the past 2 hours and it is gloriously meta but it feels like it comes at the cost of an actually satisfying resolution to the character based drama it's been focusing on. Regardless, it's an interesting swing.

Jeffrey Wright is amazing in an all too rare leading role. It's the constant shock at how gullible everyone is, the glee in writing his parody book (which is visualised in a fun way) and the quieter moments of reflection. It offers further proof of his comedic talents and shows he can command the screen, though that was never in doubt.

With tons of charisma and a restrained sadness, Sterling K. Brown is really good, even if this performance doesn't feel Academy Award worthy. However, that's more of a general complaint with watching films after the nominations are announced since it adds a distracting and unfair disadvantage to any performance nominated.

Cord Jefferson makes an impressive debut with both his screenplay and direction. The writing has so much wit and the direction has the visual staging to back it up for some very clever gags. Laura Karpman's score accomplishes the difficult task of being a constant presence without becoming overbearing thanks to its calm and easygoing nature.

I waited until the next day after watching to write this review.

In hindsight, it isn't as wise or profound as you want it to be.

Jeffrey Wright is great in the role and he embodies the sad sack writer who goes home to deal with his family, but in the meantime trips into a ruse of being a "voice of embittered Black man" who panders to White guilt.

On the surface, this seems like a window to mine great comedy. Instead, that is only on the perimeter of his internal struggle. I felt the focus should have been that. As the trailer suggests. Instead, it is more internal. It skates across a non-commital idea of what an artist should focus on.

Marketing wise, this is not Oscar bait. The true intention is to never offend the White audience while also not ostracizing the Black struggle. There is nothing deep about this movie. They are conversations that we've had online. Or arguments we've all had.

The real struggle is him, as an artist. He is battling another Black writer who seems to be pandering to the Black voice to White people. But their explanation is that she is holding a mirror to society rather than exploiting it. Um...not really. Deep down she knew this material sells to the guilt ridden literati (ahem...Washington Post). In fact, much like "Get Out" they mock the White leftist, which they go along with in hopes to be with the "in crowd".

I find it ironic that this movie is being celebrated for that reason. A self-described heavily White contingent Oscar voters fell for Thelonius Ellis's (Wright) ruse. Meta workings by a skilled movie maker Cord Jefferson.

For those who are keeping their distance due to perceiving it as being angry at Whites. It isn't. This turns into an artist's struggle.

There are things that take up a lot of head space. For instance when a family member dies, their quickness to gloss over the tragedy MAYBE plays into the dark comedy aspect. But that type of inconsistency causes some of us to not empathize with the family.

Kudos to Leslie Uggams whose bright kind face and eyes makes every moment a delight. She is acerbic in the right places. And holds more in a simple gesture than any words can.

Jeffrey Wright deserves the Oscan nom. The movie itself...fell flat for me.

Still, I miss the days of having family drama in theaters rather than making it a series. At times it feels VERY t.v. Mood. But it's a nice enough flick, in the world of "Ordinary People" or "Terms Of Endearment"

I thought this movie absolutely soared with brilliance up until the last two minutes, when it crashed with a thud. This was a real heartbreaker because up until that ending, I thought I was watching a masterpiece. It reminded me of when I was a kid reading a Superman comic book and being really absorbed in the story, only to find at the end that the whole story was something Lois Lane dreamed after she ate ice cream and pickles. Basically, the story is about a black college professor and novelist whose work is ignored because it isn't "black" enough, meaning it's not about drug addicts, pregnant teenagers and racist cops. As a joke he writes the kind of book that publishers want under a pseudonym. The book becomes a smash hit. He'd like to just stop the whole hoax, but his mother is stricken with Alzheimer's and needs round-the-clock care, which is extremely expensive. He needs the money. Up until the dud ending, this is a wry and sly work of social commentary that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's still worth seeing, but could have been so much more. The script is intelligent and compelling (up until that awful ending). Acting, direction, and technical elements are all first rate. Jeffrey Wright as the professor, gives a standout performance in the kind of role we virtually never see in a movie. Also excellent are Leslie Uggams as his mother, Myra Lucretia Taylor as their maid, John Ortiz as his agent, and Erika Alexander as his girlfriend. Actually, the whole cast is great. Because of the ideas involved, I'd say the movie is worth seeing. But be prepared for a disappointing ending.

I was worried that this would be a "grumpy guy learns the error of his ways" type movie. I was hoping for something like Krippendorf's Tribe with a pessimistic edge. What we got was somewhere in the middle. The satire was on point, if a little blunt. The humor hit about 60% of the time. The biggest issue I had was that this satire about a very specific topic kept devolving into a family drama, and the entire plot about the author and his false identity began to feel like an afterthought. In the end, nothing was really resolved. Jeffrey Wright is always excellent, and he was well suited to the role. It's just a shame it wasn't a more substantial movie, because when it was on the story about the false identity it was good. It just kept trying to become a different movie for some reason.

I really liked the first 45 minutes of the movie as I thought the movie had a great concept and director Cord Jefferson clearly has a vision on what the theme and the movie is trying to explore. But as a whole, it was mostly okay.

Jeffrey Wright is an actor I like and Wright and many of the cast members provided strong performances for their roles and the characters, while some aren't as investing, had some charm and chemistry to engage towards. The script explores about black identity, culture, and commentaries about the ways stories about Black people are told and it is a pretty concept to explore. However, I personally felt it didn't go as deep or insightful as it could have been because while there were some great satirical moments, it felt missing and didn't hit the mark as it wanted too.

The production designs are okay, the direction was standard and the humor aspects are solid but I was left wanting a little more on some of the satirical elements. The dialogue, while can be a bit dated at some points, is solid.

Overall, it's not a bad movie for sure as I do think there is a lot to appreciate but I personally felt this could have been stronger. Wright does deserve more attention however cause he is a great actor.

"American Fiction" (2023), directed by Cord Jefferson, is a satirical comedy that takes a sharp look at the commercialization of Black narratives in literature. The film stars Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison, a disillusioned author who, frustrated by the publishing industry's preference for stereotypical Black stories, writes a satirical novel under a pseudonym that unexpectedly becomes a bestseller.

Critics have praised the film for its insightful critique of the publishing industry's tendencies and its exploration of the African American experience. Jeffrey Wright delivers a standout performance, portraying Monk's internal struggles and frustrations with depth and nuance The supporting cast, including Sterling K. Brown and Tracee Ellis Ross, also contribute significantly, bringing humor and emotional weight to the family dynamics portrayed in the film.

The film's narrative is both poignant and humorous, effectively blending satire with social commentary. It addresses the pressures on Black authors to conform to certain narratives and the broader implications of these stereotypes on the perception of Black culture.