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As far as material for satire goes, the literary world is pretty low-hanging fruit, perhaps only bested by fine art collecting. Still, when the jokes are as on point as they are in American Fiction, it can make for very satisfying viewing. Writer / director Cord Jefferson (who has previously written for The Good Place, Watchmen, and Station Eleven) does an excellent job of capturing the essence of Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, the experimental structure of which would make a successful adaptation seem unlikely.
Author and professor Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright, eminently watchable as always) is known for writing acclaimed but poor-selling novels and is growing frustrated by the lack of interest in his latest effort from publishers, who dismiss it for not being “black enough”. On top of that, he finds himself placed on leave from his university and then dealing with a series of crises with his family. One bright spot emerges however when a chance encounter with neighbor Coraline (a charming Erika Alexander) promises to develop into something more.
One night after a few drinks, Monk knocks out what he intends to be a satire of the stereotypical “Black” novels the public seems to want featuring high melodrama, broken families, gang violence, and written in an over-the-top “ghetto” vernacular. His agent reluctantly agrees to send it to a few publishing houses under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh, allegedly a former convict, and much to their surprise he is promptly offered $750,000 for the book. In need of the money, he accepts and plays along with the ruse, occasionally even playing the role in person, but he can’t help but feel guilt for selling out himself and his people, and so makes attempts to sabotage the whole deal and risks damaging some personal relationships along the way.
The movie oscillates between being a razor-shop literary satire and a family dramedy in the vein of Something’s Gotta Give or As Good As It Gets, to surprisingly enjoyable effect. Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K. Brown, Leslie Uggams, and Myra Lucretia Taylor delight as Monk’s sister, brother, mother, and long-time family housekeeper respectively, with the group displaying a genuine chemistry in their scenes together. Likewise, the budding romance with Coraline feels natural and comfortable. It’s when it takes its claws out though that American Fiction really rises above. Anyone who follows the book world will instantly recognize what Jefferson and Everett are targeting here and will find themselves laughing out loud at every bullseye hit. It isn’t the flashiest movie, but it’s a clever and engaging look at a specific part of American culture that never forgets to entertain its audience. ★★★★
RATED R FOR LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, SOME DRUG USE, SEXUAL REFERENCES, AND BRIEF VIOLENCE.
RATED R FOR LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, SOME DRUG USE, SEXUAL REFERENCES, AND BRIEF VIOLENCE.
Feb 22, 2024
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🎥I‘ve never laughed so hard at a movie. The ending is particularly humorous. Based off of a novel by Percival Everett called Erasure. Well written. Well acted. And well done.
Feb 20, 2025
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This movie perfectly scratched the useless niche-information quadrant of my brain. Right above where the lobotomy scraped the feeling out of my frontal lobe.
This was really good dude! Like, not my favourite rise-and-fall business biopic, but a really solid entry into that world of movies. Best way I can describe this movie is “The Social Network: An Amazon Prime Original Movie”. Like it’s good, it ain’t winning any Oscars, but if I saw this on TV I’d be like “aw hell yeah dude this movie’s great!”
It’s so interesting how this monolithic company which once controlled 45% of the smartphone market essentially shat the bed so hard the bed snapped in half, folded in on itself, and flattened the shitter like a pancake. Part of it was corporate greed, for sure, but a fair whack was just bad luck. Imagine having the biggest status symbol in the world, only for some turtle-neck wearing dickhead to turn around and say “nah I’d win” and completely body you in the span of an hour. If that sounds like your cup of tea, watch this movie.
The plot moves at a good clip, and it kinda reminded me of Steve Jobs, using three distinct periods in the companies history as the backdrop for each act. I will say that the start and end were easily the more interesting parts. At the start we’re watching a bunch of sweaty nerds crack the code of innovation, montages and needle drops galore. In the end we’re watching a multi-national corporation in a desperate attempt to sink its teeth into anything that’ll bleed, even if that means feasting on their own flesh. The middle is more about the slow corruption, the way that lofty ideals start to fall apart in the face of adversity and the desire to be the best. It’s interesting, thematically and narratively speaking, but the real meat and potatoes are those opening and closing acts.
*puts on beret* This movie is a sound critique of capitalism, BUT NOT FOR THE REASON YOU THINK DEAR READER! Yes, this is about a company that started in humble origins and means only to blow up and become perverted by sweet sweet money, but it’s more than that. When a late-stage capitalist structure defines business success as “profit line goes up”, anything less than resounding profit is concerning if not fatal. What starts as a homegrown effort ends up outsourced, quality abandoned for quantity, SUPPLY AND DEMAND BUY BUY SELL. And hey, we all know this. You been to McDonalds recently? Big Mac my ass, that shits a Medium Mac AT BEST. I digress. While that factor is certainly touched on here, I also think it shines a light on the sort of person that world attracts. It takes a special kinda of bastard to run a BlackBerry, and those bastards all share a vice in pride (not the sucking-and-fucking fun kind either). You combine this personality type that needs to control, to dominate, to be the big swinging dick, with an unforgiving system that reduces accomplishment to “does the line go up?”, and you end up with a company that changes the world and implodes within a decade. Hmmm maybe the system is flawed… nah, me want Big Mac.
Stand out performance from Glenn Howerton, he is after all a Five Star Man. There was a feeling here that he’d just play Dennis from Sunny, only now in a suit, but his performance had subtle differences. Explosive, abusive, untethered, but doing a much better job of keeping the lid on. Jay Baruchel also did a very commendable job, taking a character from a weak-chinned autistic-coded savant who can’t hold eye contact for the duration of a swift fart, all the way up to a frazzled, desperate businessman grasping at straws to keep his kingdom from sinking into the sea.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
Watch this if you like - The Social Network, Steve Jobs, The Founder, The Big Short
have you seen this movie? what did you think? let’s talk about it
This was really good dude! Like, not my favourite rise-and-fall business biopic, but a really solid entry into that world of movies. Best way I can describe this movie is “The Social Network: An Amazon Prime Original Movie”. Like it’s good, it ain’t winning any Oscars, but if I saw this on TV I’d be like “aw hell yeah dude this movie’s great!”
It’s so interesting how this monolithic company which once controlled 45% of the smartphone market essentially shat the bed so hard the bed snapped in half, folded in on itself, and flattened the shitter like a pancake. Part of it was corporate greed, for sure, but a fair whack was just bad luck. Imagine having the biggest status symbol in the world, only for some turtle-neck wearing dickhead to turn around and say “nah I’d win” and completely body you in the span of an hour. If that sounds like your cup of tea, watch this movie.
The plot moves at a good clip, and it kinda reminded me of Steve Jobs, using three distinct periods in the companies history as the backdrop for each act. I will say that the start and end were easily the more interesting parts. At the start we’re watching a bunch of sweaty nerds crack the code of innovation, montages and needle drops galore. In the end we’re watching a multi-national corporation in a desperate attempt to sink its teeth into anything that’ll bleed, even if that means feasting on their own flesh. The middle is more about the slow corruption, the way that lofty ideals start to fall apart in the face of adversity and the desire to be the best. It’s interesting, thematically and narratively speaking, but the real meat and potatoes are those opening and closing acts.
*puts on beret* This movie is a sound critique of capitalism, BUT NOT FOR THE REASON YOU THINK DEAR READER! Yes, this is about a company that started in humble origins and means only to blow up and become perverted by sweet sweet money, but it’s more than that. When a late-stage capitalist structure defines business success as “profit line goes up”, anything less than resounding profit is concerning if not fatal. What starts as a homegrown effort ends up outsourced, quality abandoned for quantity, SUPPLY AND DEMAND BUY BUY SELL. And hey, we all know this. You been to McDonalds recently? Big Mac my ass, that shits a Medium Mac AT BEST. I digress. While that factor is certainly touched on here, I also think it shines a light on the sort of person that world attracts. It takes a special kinda of bastard to run a BlackBerry, and those bastards all share a vice in pride (not the sucking-and-fucking fun kind either). You combine this personality type that needs to control, to dominate, to be the big swinging dick, with an unforgiving system that reduces accomplishment to “does the line go up?”, and you end up with a company that changes the world and implodes within a decade. Hmmm maybe the system is flawed… nah, me want Big Mac.
Stand out performance from Glenn Howerton, he is after all a Five Star Man. There was a feeling here that he’d just play Dennis from Sunny, only now in a suit, but his performance had subtle differences. Explosive, abusive, untethered, but doing a much better job of keeping the lid on. Jay Baruchel also did a very commendable job, taking a character from a weak-chinned autistic-coded savant who can’t hold eye contact for the duration of a swift fart, all the way up to a frazzled, desperate businessman grasping at straws to keep his kingdom from sinking into the sea.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
Watch this if you like - The Social Network, Steve Jobs, The Founder, The Big Short
have you seen this movie? what did you think? let’s talk about it
Jan 17, 2025
Mar 15, 2024
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Not perfect, but easily their best album in years. Really enjoying it.
