"American Fiction" | December 2023 | starring Jeffrey Wright, Issa Rae & Sterling K. Brown

[FlyRy]

Out on digital Tuesday

 

[Dr. Narcisse]

Just got back from seeing American Fiction, you know I feel confident saying it's not really a comedy, you were lying

I'll give it credit for being well-made and tasteful, but it just doesn't go deep enough, I also didn't expect it to be so personal. That's not what was sold to me in the trailer, I wanted an excoriation of modern identity politics in media from a Black perspective, but what I got was a family drama 'starring Adolph Reed'. I can't help feeling a little disappointed.

If that was the directors intention he did a terrible job of it. None of the characters are given enough time for the viewer to really care about the wedding or his mother's illness so it just feels like it's in the way of the 'real story'.

Maybe I need to see it a 2nd time, but Im kinda left with this feeling as well.

I think the acting is great, the family story is well told, but Cord's inexperience as a director makes the family dynamic stuff seem..less dynamic.

Again I get the Tyler Perry stuff done right. And thats good in itself. However, does that make it great?

I was hooked in the beginning of the movie and its most definitely good.

However, TBF its likely my fault because Bamboozled is so present in my head. There's not enough tension of something like this blowing up. It just does. And then we're back to family story. Again maybe its my fault cause I expected tension there and its really not the fault of the movie for that.

All in all still good. However, I think if this wasnt his first film it would be truly great imo.

 

[Bickin Back Being Bool]

watching this and book of clarence this weekend

 

[Dr. Narcisse]

And @BobbyWojak I cant help but feel the irony in Sterling K being nominated for this performance. He's given great performances before. And he's certainly very good here. However, Im legit trying to think of the clip they show for his oscar nomination. I didnt need to see melodrama, but again I kinda thought they would have done more with his character.

Seemed like the care taker lady had as much or more screen time.

 

[Ziggiy]

And @BobbyWojak I cant help but feel the irony in Sterling K being nominated for this performance. He's given great performances before. And he's certainly very good here. However, Im legit trying to think of the clip they show for his oscar nomination. I didnt need to see melodrama, but again I kinda thought they would have done more with his character.

Seemed like the care taker lady had as much or more screen time.

If we’re going by clips i’d say the scene where he’s dancing with the mother or the wedding scene were true standouts

 

[BobbyWojak]

Maybe I need to see it a 2nd time, but Im kinda left with this feeling as well.

I think the acting is great, the family story is well told, but Cord's inexperience as a director makes the family dynamic stuff seem..less dynamic.

Again I get the Tyler Perry stuff done right. And thats good in itself. However, does that make it great?

I was hooked in the beginning of the movie and its most definitely good.

However, TBF its likely my fault because Bamboozled is so present in my head. There's not enough tension of something like this blowing up. It just does. And then we're back to family story. Again maybe its my fault cause I expected tension there and its really not the fault of the movie for that.

All in all still good. However, I think if this wasnt his first film it would be truly great imo.

And @BobbyWojak I cant help but feel the irony in Sterling K being nominated for this performance. He's given great performances before. And he's certainly very good here. However, Im legit trying to think of the clip they show for his oscar nomination. I didnt need to see melodrama, but again I kinda thought they would have done more with his character.

Seemed like the care taker lady had as much or more screen time.

I'm going to preface this with saying I enjoyed American Fiction more than Killers of the Flower Moon and Saltburn. But it's a poor adaption with sketchy pacing, you can look past this while you're watching it for the first time but structurally it has issues. Jefferson should have swallowed his pride and had a few people help him write that screenplay. I would have liked for him to focus more on the side characters or stand on being a political film.

The portrayal of Sterling K Brown's character is doubly ironic because the film doesn't criticize how these types of gay characters are portrayed in modern films. If you're conscious enough to make this type of movie how are you not conscious enough to deny a superficial liberal cac audience that satisfaction? I thought Lorraine's characterization had the potential to be much more interesting. You take this one dimensional big Black housekeeper stereotype and showcase her romantic life, her motivations, I would have liked to have seen that.

I also thought that final debate with Issa Rae's character was a bit toothless, well written but not very satisfying. They both have legitimate points but the film frames it as if Monk in the wrong. We should strive to be better, we are not 'good enough'.

 

[O³ (O cubed)]

Twas an alright film. I went into this blind based off the trailer.

It was a decent film. I wished it touched more on the trailer premise then what it was. Which was exploring a black family's experience in a "non stereotypical way.".

But yet the brother's character, Cliff, was the epitome of a black gay man in films. Hypersexual, selfish and catty.

 

[OJ Simpsom]

Coli had me hyped af for this, but ended up being some mid.

Book of Clarence >>>

 

[Chimses]

I enjoyed the film. I would say i taught it would be funnier but the emotinal scenes were good. Jefferey Wright was amazing and music so nice with the jazz.

only compliant is Tracee Ellis Ross should have had a bigger role.

This film and Book of clarence are going on shelf.

Spoiler: Adaptation and American Fiction similarities

This movie and "Adaptation" (2002) by Spike Jonze have alot of similarities. I noticed after watching the movie. They actually would work for a double featurette

1.A writer studggling with artstic integrity and not feeding into their industy guidlines

2.Brotherly feuding that leads to the brother exposing the protagonist arrogance that is clouds the Protagonist worldview

3.Miminmal Surrealism (In Adaptation I would say for a Kaufman film I would still givie two Nicolas Cages a surreal feature and out of his filmography this film is his least use of surrealism)

4.Balding and Chubby protagonist who are confused at the stuff that is being greenlighted at their own respective industries.
Ex. Monk with the book "fukk" and Charlie with the his brother screenplay.

5. Unmasking with the protagonist to understand their material (Monk with "Stagg" and how everybody wanted meet the author) and (Charlie and meeting with Meryl streep character to understand the book)

5.Metacommentary of Hollywood and the protagonists writing industy (one is publishing and other is screenwriting).
also we see critique and understanding of the Protagonist industry "Powerhouses". In American ficition Issa Rae character is succcesful and met with disdain from the Protagonist. She represents the anatagonist. In Adaptation Brian Cox character would repsented the same thing as well.

6.Subverting the expectations of the film that ulimatley ends with the Protagonists conforming
(Monk rewrites the main film ending with the director but decides to "play the game" even if its aganist his core principles
and (Adaption shows Charlie ending the thrid act with everthing he critiques in the first act of the film)

7. Rewriting of the ending in real time. We watched as the protagonist both rewrite their "endings".

 

[Vandelay]

Been trying to get to the theater the last few weekends to see this.

 

[Ziggiy]

Twas an alright film. I went into this blind based off the trailer.

It was a decent film. I wished it touched more on the trailer premise then what it was. Which was exploring a black family's experience in a "non stereotypical way.".

But yet the brother's character, Cliff, was the epitome of a black gay man in films. Hypersexual, selfish and catty.

I didn’t necessarily get that i’ll have to rewatch the film.


I felt like his selfishness wasn’t due to being Gay but more so due to how they were raised.

The film makes a point of telling us that Monk was the “favorite” which left Lisa and Cliff on their own so to speak and both of them suffered because of it. Cliff grew up hiding who he was and Lisa grew up an overachiever who was perhaps a little too attached to the idea of being the one who “stayed” to help the family out. Both Cliff and Lisa struggled with relationships. Both Cliff and Lisa were a bit less disciplined. Cliff would’ve been selfish (in my opinion) if he were Gay or straight.

Also the hypersexual aspect of Cliff I felt was shown to be because he’d been “in the closet” for so long that when he was finally free to be himself he went overboard, mostly due to being able to finally express himself but also out of sadness. His kids hated him, he hated where he lived, it was hinted he hated his profession. Dude was sad and lonely and this was reflected in both Monk and Lisa as well. They were three sad, lonely people who were desperate for connection but only knew how to do so through conflict. Its why Monk and Lisa were at each other’s throats BEFORE they started enjoying one another’s company just before she died. Same thing with Monk and Cliff.


There was more to Cliff than just selfish, hypersexual and catty

 

[re'up]

Also, it was strongly implied by writing how much they mutually understood each other, in the way close families do

but also how much Cliff caught everything about Monk, he could see right through him.

that's why the ending felt so right? I think. He had his brother riding with him, after being semi estranged for years.

 

[BobbyWojak]

Coli had me hyped af for this, but ended up being some mid.

Book of Clarence >>>

I want to see Book of Clarence but I got the feeling it might be boring, did it feel slow?

 

[FunkDoc1112]

JUST got back from my second screening.

Still holds up as my movie of the year

I think my only flaw with the movie is that they should have taken a little bit of time to show why either Issa Rae’s book was different than Monk’s or why she THOUGHT it was different. That was my only gripe

Yeah, felt like the movie left Issa's character off the hook too much. Like yeah I get that breh was coming at it with a bit of a self righteous angle but she was still a bougie chick pandering to the worst stereotypes of blackness

 

[FunkDoc1112]

I feel you. Most of my theatre was white and it triggered my double consciousness to the point where I don’t think I was as immersed in it as I could have been in a black theatre. It’s a racial movie so when white people laugh it does make you wonder why they are laughing. I think Dave Chappelle shared a similar story about hearing a white guy laughing at one of his jokes.

Damn I'm lucky I live in Brooklyn my theater was mostly middle aged black people