La sociedad americana de negros mágicos

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

This is the kind of movie where it has an interesting premise and it could have explored interesting satirical themes and ideas but instead, the filmmaker doesn't really offer much with any creative outlooks and follows cliched and uninteresting tropes.

Kobi Libii has a concept that could have been interesting but his bland direction and the unambitious tones really create a hollow and investing story with dull cliche tropes, uninteresting characters and weak performances from the cast members. I like Justice Smith and Smith is trying his best but unfortunately his dull character and the poor dialogue really lacks his performance. Throughout, I found myself feeling bored and thinking that this movie could have been at least interesting if the filmmaker had thought about actually trying to add something that feels weird or unique. But that's not what I got. Instead, what I got was more of a dull and uninspired narrative that really wastes the talented cast and concepts.

What a shame.

There's only so many times you can repeat the same 'white people so fragile' joke before it gets stale, and The American Society of Magical Negroes forms its entire foundation around it. It says absolutely nothing new or profound about racism, and right from the jump, you know exactly where it's headed. The new recruit, played by Justice Smith, has to tend to a white male who's down on his luck, and he meets an Armenian woman in a coffee shop and falls in love with her. In order to keep the white man happy, the recruit must surrender his feelings in order to make his white client happier, lest he ends up destroying the entire foundation the Society is set upon.

I was in the auditorium with one other man, and not a single one of us were genuinely entertained by what was going on (the other dude was just messing around on his phone). I ended up walking out an hour in because I knew where it was going and it wasn't going to get any better, and I highly suggest staying as far away from this one as possible.

I was hoping to atleast get a couple laughs or see some interesting/fresh takes on black American culture; I was sadly disappointed. I expected so little and was still so let down. I'm mostly confused as to why anyone who want they names attached to such a stupid, ignorant, devisive and hateful script. I'm trying to think of a single redeeming feature of this film... the acting was ok even good at times and the direction wasn't bad. That's all I got.

I do not recommend. Don't waste your time. It's not even worth the watch for the lulz or for watching a train wreck.

It's soul sucking to any decent human being, maybe this should be used down in Gitmo for torture?

I love David Allen Grier and Justice Smith and I love their chemistry. This movie did get slow at times, but it did bring things to my attention that I had been previously unaware of. I had such little understanding of what black peoples lives were like on a daily basis and how much discrimination they have to deal with. BLM opened my eyes to a lot and this movie helps further that. I'm baffled by the copious amounts of bad reviews. I wouldn't watch this again, but I'm glad I did once. Things have to change and even though this movie didn't get a great reception it's an important step forward. Keep talking about uncomfortable things, because that's the only way things will change.

I didn't know what this movie was gonna be about I just thought the name was funny. It's starts off awkward, seemed like a typical role for Justice Smith. I was hoping it was gonna have some grandeur to it, I was expecting a really funny black Harry Potter maybe. The premise is a little weird, maybe racist too. And I don't think the movie as a whole was executed well.

I had a couple laughs. Like how they couldn't figure out a better way to design a secret entrance in the barber shop. The speech he gave about the magical society and sharks was hilariously bad. I kept comparing this to American fiction, very unfavorably. It felt like that's what they were trying to do. Felt like it could be funnier. The story and its characters took everything seriously even though the premise felt extremely silly.

Throughout the movie, I was inundated with waves of second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness. The premise relies heavily on white discomfort, well I'm black and I was like "ugh, no" a lot. The movie felt inconsistent, with some scenes seeming okay, as if they belonged in a better film, while others gave me the urge to scream "nooo!!" even louder than Charles Leclerc in France. The final speech was particularly dreadful, it was out of the blue, replete with cringe-inducing moments and also unjustified based off what we saw of the character. He was simply a socially awkward guy, period. It had nothing to do with him being black. The collective sighs of "oh no" from the audience were frequent. I shouldn't say the audience, there were only like 5 other people in the theatre. A lot of scenes were hard to watch.

However, I did like the romantic bits, which could have easily formed the basis of a separate film. I'd certainly be keen to watch a cheesy romcom starring Justice Smith and An Li Bogan.

There were a few bits that I liked, that made me laugh, but this could've been so much better, or maybe not even made at all lol. I don't think the movie had any meaning behind it that it conveyed successfully. I think if I liked the movie, I'd have maybe liked the ending. Instead I thought "oh no, there's gonna be another one."