A young man is recruited into a secret society of magical black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people's lives easier.A young man is recruited into a secret society of magical black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people's lives easier.A young man is recruited into a secret society of magical black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people's lives easier.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
- Patron
- (as James Welsh)
- Antoine
- (as Isayas J. Theodros)
- Guard
- (as Greg Cohan)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Summary
Featured reviews
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 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.
Any sort of movement forward has been pushed back by decades thanks to the 'brain trust' that came up with this garbage. It's 2024 - we're better than this, aren't we?
The premise of this whole film is insulting to our people - in ALL regards. The fact that it bombed at the box office is of no shock - nor should it be to anyone who saw it. Thank goodness we have American Fiction; at least that spectacular film made its point w/o being ridiculous .
It's set up like your standard romantic comedy starting with an awkward meet-cute, but then there's a lot of talking - a lot of heartfelt conversations, lots of exposition, a chaotic monologue...little was done to spice things up. Sorry guys but a clearly ADR touched up walk and talk through Echo Park isn't gonna cut it in 2024.
Admittedly, this is not a movie for everyone. If you're not prepared for a slow satirical comedy this movie will frustrate you. If you don't "get" satire, this movie will frustrate you. It's an obvious wink and a nod to certain demographics, and if you know, you know, and if you don't, this movie might make you feel uncomfortable. ;)
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."
The 'American Society' Journey From Script to Screen
The 'American Society' Journey From Script to Screen
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was pulled from theaters after three weeks.
- GoofsA man in the background exits a building and begins walking toward the foreground. He sees the filming in progress and runs back into the building.
- Quotes
Aren: You're not my friend. And you don't want to be friends, because if we were actual friends, you would have to talk to me and listen to me and make space for the reality that I live in a country that makes me feel like it wants me dead. Where if I get shot today, there is an army of people ready to explain how it was probably my fault. And I feel that every day, in every glance, in every movie that's supposed to be uplifting. And that changes everything. That changes how I walk and how I talk and how I take up space! Or don't! It changes what risks feel reasonable and which ones are insane. And it's taken me my whole life to realize that this is a weight that I walk around with all the time. And after this lifelong journey of figuring out that maybe this shit impacts everything I do, you want to turn around and act like I'm crazy for acknowledging it. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no. You don't get to put me in danger just because you don't want to feel like an asshole. Be the asshole. Because the shame that you feel like you did something wrong just by being yourself, that is my whole life. And this place, this country has been so deeply indifferent to whether or not I exist that on some level, I don't think I have the right to. And what I am saying to you that you so steadfastly refuse to hear is fuck that! I do! I deserve to be here, not just on this stage but in this world. And that, believe it or not, is a revelation to me. So you want to know about my-my "diverse experience"? I have been on this planet for 27 years, and I just figured out this week that I deserve to be alive.
- SoundtracksGames People Play
Written by Joe South
Performed by Johnnie Taylor
Courtesy of Craft Recordings, a Division of Concord
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Amerikan Büyülü Zenciler Birliği
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,480,645
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,304,270
- Mar 17, 2024
- Gross worldwide
- $2,496,248
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1