Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
When I see any movie with Jeffrey Wright, I know it’s going to be good; he has a knack for picking good projects. That being said, this was a “blow me away” type of film. At its core, it’s a comedy, and a very funny one at that, but it has a much deeper feel beyond that. Like similar movies like Blazing Saddles and Hollywood Shuffle, American Fiction uses comedy as a vehicle to drive home a more serious issue. Stereotypes are something as a society we have been fighting against for a long time. It has gotten better, but we are still not there. This is what the movie is really about, as Monk tries to be a real writer and is not noticed till he bends the knee, so to speak. The story is fantastic, and I love the writing up to the last few minutes. I will not spoil the ending, but to me, it seems like a lazy ending. I was all in from start to almost-finish; the ending to me was its only flaw.
The acting was great as well. Along with Wright is a host of phenomenal actors, including one of my favorites, Sterling K. Brown, who does a great job as Monk’s brother, and John Ortiz plays Monk’s publicist. All in all, the movie makes you laugh, cringe, cry, and, most of all, makes you think: what more could you ask for? Even with the questionable ending, I highly recommend American Fiction.
