American Fiction was one of the few best picture nominees that I thought looked genuinely great at this year’s academy awards and I unfortunately missed its theatrical run. Having heard rave reviews from various people I know, I finally got around to watching it on Prime one evening recently and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is a struggling author frustrated with how stereotypical black stories involving gang violence and life in the ghettos get far more publicity and critical attention than his works that he considers to be intellectually superior and better written.
In anger Monk writes ‘My Pafology’, a book in the style of the kinds of stories he hates and sends it to his agent as a joke. But when publishers get their hands on it and it becomes the most popular thing Monk has ever written, he becomes swept up in a web of lies that threaten his credibility as a writer and his blossoming relationship with his neighbour Coraline (Erika Alexander).
I think American Fiction might be the funniest film I’ve seen this year so far, that or Poor Things. The combination of the fast paced and cuttingly dry dialogue mixed with an excellent performance from Wright make this an absolute riot.
It’s great to see Hollywood taking on a story that deconstructs the stereotypical narrative of black people in a way that also acknowledges that those stories do exist and should be valued. Monk’s a middle class man who grew up in a comfortably middle class family, he didn’t encounter the same struggles that many other black people do in America, and whilst he has of course experienced racism and is currently rolling his eyes at the ways white people will be so overly sensitive towards race, his outlook on life has been informed by his privilege and it’s funny to see him complain about how hard he has it to people who arguably have it worse than him.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is a struggling author frustrated with how stereotypical black stories involving gang violence and life in the ghettos get far more publicity and critical attention than his works that he considers to be intellectually superior and better written.
In anger Monk writes ‘My Pafology’, a book in the style of the kinds of stories he hates and sends it to his agent as a joke. But when publishers get their hands on it and it becomes the most popular thing Monk has ever written, he becomes swept up in a web of lies that threaten his credibility as a writer and his blossoming relationship with his neighbour Coraline (Erika Alexander).
I think American Fiction might be the funniest film I’ve seen this year so far, that or Poor Things. The combination of the fast paced and cuttingly dry dialogue mixed with an excellent performance from Wright make this an absolute riot.
It’s great to see Hollywood taking on a story that deconstructs the stereotypical narrative of black people in a way that also acknowledges that those stories do exist and should be valued. Monk’s a middle class man who grew up in a comfortably middle class family, he didn’t encounter the same struggles that many other black people do in America, and whilst he has of course experienced racism and is currently rolling his eyes at the ways white people will be so overly sensitive towards race, his outlook on life has been informed by his privilege and it’s funny to see him complain about how hard he has it to people who arguably have it worse than him.
Wright nails the performance here, and he’s not alone as there’s a number of strong supporting roles from the likes of the previously mentioned Alexander, and Sterling K. Brown who plays Monk’s brother Clifford.
Whilst everyone’s comedy is on point, American Fiction also has a poignant story about family at its heart as Monk’s family come together to support his mother Agnes (Leslie Uggams) who is suffering from dementia.
If there’s one thing, I’d have liked to have seen done differently it would be the ending. There’s clearly some sort of joke I missed at the end because the story doesn’t have an ending as such. It’s tough to say without spoiling anything, but a lot happens in the last few minutes, but it doesn’t provide an awful lot of closure to the story or the characters. I get the impression that it’s intentional, especially considering how absurd the ending gets, but I wasn’t keen on it and it was a slightly underwhelming ending to an otherwise exceptional film.
It felt ‘raw’ and ‘real’…I’m just messing with you, American Fiction was a delight to watch and had me belly laughing throughout. The snappy dialogue and Wright’s excellent performance should be enough to sell this film to anyone, but it’ll win your heart with its surprisingly sensitive family drama. Things going to be a strong contender for one of my favourite films of the year.
Whilst everyone’s comedy is on point, American Fiction also has a poignant story about family at its heart as Monk’s family come together to support his mother Agnes (Leslie Uggams) who is suffering from dementia.
If there’s one thing, I’d have liked to have seen done differently it would be the ending. There’s clearly some sort of joke I missed at the end because the story doesn’t have an ending as such. It’s tough to say without spoiling anything, but a lot happens in the last few minutes, but it doesn’t provide an awful lot of closure to the story or the characters. I get the impression that it’s intentional, especially considering how absurd the ending gets, but I wasn’t keen on it and it was a slightly underwhelming ending to an otherwise exceptional film.
It felt ‘raw’ and ‘real’…I’m just messing with you, American Fiction was a delight to watch and had me belly laughing throughout. The snappy dialogue and Wright’s excellent performance should be enough to sell this film to anyone, but it’ll win your heart with its surprisingly sensitive family drama. Things going to be a strong contender for one of my favourite films of the year.