Rating: Overflowing

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Studios: MGM Studios/Orion Pictures/MRC/T-Street

Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Oritz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Issa Rae and Sterling K Brown

Director: Cord Jefferson

Writer: Cord Jefferson

Based on: the novel Erasure by Percival Everett

Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios and Ben LeClair

Music by: Laura Karpman

Rated: R for language throughout, some drug use, sexual references and brief violence

Release Date: 12/15/23

Runtime: 1h 57m

Tagline: N/A

Favorite Character: Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison

Quote: “Geniuses are loners because they can’t connect with the rest of us.”- Agnes Ellison

Fun Fact: This is Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut.

The Review: If you have read the movie summary before seeing it, you might noticed that it sounds a little familiar, like Mel Brooks satiric comedy ‘The Producers’ This is kind of like that, but instead of two guys scheming to make a flop for profit, American Fiction brings us a writer and college professor that writes for a joke with unexpected results.

Thelonious Ellison (played spectacularly by Jeffrey Wright that earned him a well deserved Oscar nomination) going by ‘Monk’ throughout the movie, has taken a rocky turn as a professor when he wrote a quote with the N-Word in it and it offends one the students. With that, he is required to take some time off and return to his home in Boston. Not that he’s doing great as a writer either. His books have been selling poorly and being called out for his books not being black enough. And if that wasn’t bad enough, a unexpected family tragedy has hit!

But with family tragedy, brings us an entertaining and comical satire. Monk writes a book about stereotypical African American gangsters with some guns, gangsta cliches and of course, dialogue with a bunch of N words in it. What’s really memorable about that scene is two of his characters (portrayed by Okieriete ‘Oak’ Onaodowan and Keith David) came alive while he’s doing his work and gave us what is not only what’s in Monk’s twisted mind, but basically a gangsta type tropes you see in media. Of course, the book was supposed to be a gag novel that Monk wasn’t meant to take seriously, but to his surprise, the publishers were, for some what reason, impressed with his writing. Adding to the hilarity was when Monk’s decided to give us a controversial title. I’m not going to say what it is, but you are gonna be like, WTF in a amusing way.

But there is one character that also deserved a shout out and that character is Sterling K. Brown’s Clifford ‘Cliff’ Ellison. And to me, he may be a guy with stereotypical brother of the hood like characteristics, but with some unique touches of homosexuality, he manages to stand out as a supporting character (and receive an Oscar nomination). And don’t worry, i did not forget about Mock’s love interest, his mother who’s slowly losing her memory, etc.

I may not know who Cord Jefferson is, but it seems he may have a potential directing career. Maybe it would have to do with the fact that his signature achievement delivers social commentary with mockery and humor and added some of the heart and family drama. Racism may be a serious topic, but with this, we could use a chuckle and some of the touching family story.