American Fiction

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)

It could be that I am incorrectly reading this movie, however initially you would think the movie is the mockery of the racial rhetoric in media. It is basically thrown right in your face. However I think the movie is making a mockery of the viewers. It is basically saying: "You as a viewer now know perfectly what is happening in media, you are now aware of the 'correct' perspective, you are now a 'genius'". The same way monk was called a 'genius' by his mother. It taunts us with the answer to this specific social issue, seemingly playing into the idea that people want to have a form of higher understanding over others. Monk thinks he has the higher understanding, and holds on to it till the bitter end. In the meantime he alienates the people around him to so dearly protect his own pride. He seems insecure about his background and thus creates a facade for himself, a rhetoric, that he sees the world how it really is and he, and all black people, are the victims. Its all just foolish human behavior, there is no higher understanding, there is no real perspective, there is only your perspective, and the perspective of others. It is important to keep listening to what people are saying with compassion and understanding.

I am aware of the irony woven in this review, but I guess that is the beauty of human nature, our flaws are what keep the world spinning.

The part of the movie that concerns liberal white guilt driving forcing black voices into a box is funny and right on point. I live in the same area as this movie takes place and know many black people who express the same sentiments as the main character here... (Monk). But ironically it seems that the story that wanted to be told was likely interfered with by corporate suits and perhaps the screenplay didn't have a great ending.

Most of the movie is wonderful but the main character's LGBT brother is very likely not needed and was put in there to satisfy an agenda. Ironically... this movie itself is a vehicle for the message while also critiquing it. And at the end of the story it looks like it is going to go with a very Tootsie like ending but they do a few zigs and zags that I wonder if was just to extend the run time.

Overall though, very entertaining.

A movie about a black author tired of the simple and unidimensional exposure of the African-American culture and white people regarding it as holy work. As a protest, he fed them with a fiction of his own about the poverty and the hardships that come with being black. The book is so void of anything to him and his PhD in literature that he sends it to publishers as a joke, but little did he know that it was the demise of his morale. As some might find the end disappointing, it is very highlighting the whole speech of the movie. Because by the end, the audience is treated as the movie's white people; when it could have stopped on a question mark, it proposes an alternative ending that would please the masses.