REVIEW: American Fiction (2023)

Movie Reviews

When I first saw a trailer for American Fiction before The Boy and the Heron over a month ago, I knew I needed to see it. Jeffrey Wright consistently delivers the goods, and this film looked hysterical. I’m only frustrated that it took weeks past the official release date for any theaters near me to screen American Fiction. I don’t think I’m alone because the showing was packed, and this was the busiest I’ve ever seen it at this particular theater. It’s frustrating getting tons of ads hailing a film as “the best movie of 2023” and the like when you don’t have access to it! Has anyone else had this issue? Especially if you don’t live in New York or DC, I’m willing to bet the answer is yes. Let’s find out if this film is a match for the hype and hilarious trailers. 

Based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett, American Fiction follows Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a respected but not famous author struggling to sell his latest book. Monk is an intellectual more interested in adapting the classics than exploring modern America. However, books like Sintara Golden’s We’s Lives in Da Ghetto sell copies while Monk’s books gather dust. When publishers ask for a “black” book, Monk gives them the most stereotypical, trite, offensive portrait of the black experience he can muster. What comes next shocks everyone, most of all Monk himself. All of this takes place while Monk struggles to take care of his mother (Leslie Uggams) with his siblings (Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown).

I was drawn to American Fiction by the wicked sense of humor displayed in its trailer, and it’s the rare film that lives up to the best bits of its own marketing. This movie is very funny and has quite a bit to say about “the black experience” and the ways in which the entertainment industry commodifies and assimilates it. I am not black or a published author, but I would imagine many creators are asked to fit into a certain box or stereotype, as Monk is in the film. I think regular people are asked to do so every day to make things easier for other people so we can be quickly categorized. Advertisers and executives love for people and art to be simple and fit under a label because it makes their job so much easier. Women must love romantic comedies, men love action, and cartoons are for kids, for example.

This idea is explored in American Fiction through its characters. Thelonious takes offense at the minimization of his work or the idea that black art needs to feel rooted in blackness. He doesn’t want to write stereotypical books about slavery or inner city problems, and he balks at people like Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), who do. For her part, Sintara wants to provide the audience with what they want. Monk’s family represents black excellence, all being artists and doctors. But just like the rest of us, they wrestle with very human problems like divorce, sexuality, and betrayal. Sterling K. Brown is an absolute delight as Monk’s brother Clifford, and Tracee Ellis Ross is sweet and funny as his sister Lisa. Leslie Uggams is less fun as their mother, who is beginning to show signs of mental decline. But she’s very believable as a disapproving mother, constantly exerting her unwanted opinions and wishes over her well-above-18 children. The family’s maid, Lorraine ( Myra Lucretia Taylor), is very sweet, and I love her relationships with the whole family. She is involved in some of my favorite scenes in the film. Monk’s girlfriend Coraline (Erika Alexander) is another character I really enjoyed. Her life and past are just as complex as Monk’s, but she carries them with a little more joy and levity. 

American Fiction is remarkable both because of and despite these dark themes and interpersonal dilemmas; it is also witty and upbeat, sometimes packing a significant satirical punch. The film is too bright and inventive to feel bitter and too heartfelt to come off as sappy. American Fiction balances tones and emotions better than most movies I’ve seen, which does a lot for its rewatchability. The plot has hints of The Producers and, I’m sure, other films, but it remains creative and fresh-feeling. Despite Monk’s best efforts, his satirical book is misconstrued as a brilliant piece of American literature. His attempts to sink the derivative mess of a book only lead to greater successes, delighting Monk’s agent and publishers but horrifying him. 

I technically saw American Fiction in 2024, thanks to the bizarre rollout it’s had, but it’s one of the best movies of 2023 that I’ve seen. American Fiction is funny, sweet, thought-provoking, and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Jeffrey Wright is always great, but this may be a new high for him as an actor. How can he play Monk as such an ass and still remain so endearing? He’s surrounded by an equally delightful cast, notably Sterling K. Brown and Erika Alexander. One of my favorite things about this film is that while it calls out very real problems with the publishing industry and the society that perpetuates it, it doesn’t pretend to offer easy answers. Even in the big argument between Sinatra and Monk, nobody really “wins.” I’m inclined to agree with Monk, and I think many will be. But Sintara’s words ring true, especially from a business/financial point of view. Is art supposed to challenge the audience or satisfy it?