AMERICAN FICTION | Official Trailer Starring JEFFREY WRIGHT

Left.A1

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Just saw this trailer. Looks like an interesting satire.
 

pickles

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I want to see this movie so bad but it is not playing anywhere near me.
I am going to read the book this movie is based off of.
 

re'up

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Saw this last night. Lots of thoughts and would love to talk with someone who saw it.

The movie caught me off guard, I was expecting a funnier, more satirical movie, along the lines of a more subdued Sorry To Bother You, or Bamboozled, or the funnier moments of a show like ATL, recalling the Spotify scenes, or Rap shyt

this is more like The Player. An intricate and nuanced family drama/comedy, that didn't feel predictable or formulaic, the movie felt so lived in to me. Like these were real people, and real houses, very naturalistic direction and the jazz soundtrack contributed to that. The earliest scenes with Wright and Tracee Ellis Ross were great. Set the tone for the rest of the movie. One of my favorite things to do with my own sister is drive around with her right when I get to her area, and just talk and rant to each other.

Sterling K Brown's performance was impeccable. Also, have to credit the writing, which allowed for him to be gay, without making it a central theme, or message movie, just about family, acceptance, and real life. Also, the fact he used oxy without making it again a central theme about drug addiction and redemption, just a guy who is a little fukked up in life at the moment. The scenes with him, Wright, and Coraline were beautiful.

The satire, when applied was razor sharp and very funny, but the movie doesn't really go for laugh lines, or cheap shots, though I laughed a lot more than most of the audience. Issa Rae was perfect. Her perspective intelligently drawn and delivered. The ending sequence was so good to me. The breaking the 4th wall aspect, the kind of examination of what people love about movies, white and black, but mostly white, the kind of obsession we have with making redemption movies or tear jerk message movies, and not just stories like this.

Small things Iliked:

Keith David, who is in Sugar Hill, in a great scene (actually Keith David is from Requiem For a Dream, not Sugar Hill, but easy mistake to make)

John Ortiz was great, he had a quote like "message movies with important themes"

The Hollywood producer scenes, with the soda, the whole "they smoked him", "I did a month for some interstate commerce shyt"

There's a quote in Collateral were Tom Cruise says about jazz:

It's off melody Behind the notes Not what's expected, Improvising like tonight (it's not a coincidence that American Fiction score is all jazz)

That's how this movie felt, off melody and behind the notes-- at times the tone shifts were rough and not as smooth as maybe they could be, you can feel the comedy momentum/satire building, only to be back in Boston, in a different movie, about family, the small moments in life, casual weddings and family reunions, and what's and whose family and what it means. But, I think it's pretty perfect. I can see white people and certain people disliking this. It has no easy answers. No real redemption. No degradation or slavery. No "we can all get along", but it's closer to real life. If this wins an Oscar, that would the ultimate kind of ironic reward.
 
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