A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to di... Read allA novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 63 wins & 166 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn a 2023 interview with Esquire, Cord Jefferson explained his approach to a key scene in the film and how the actors elevated it in unexpected ways: "We've all seen that scene of the writer pounding the keyboard frantically, then taking a big sip of coffee and getting back to it. That's how you depict somebody intensely writing. But I thought, 'We can't have that. It's tropey and silly, and it doesn't get the audience's minds going.' So why not have these characters manifest in front of him? When I wrote that scene, I wrote the language to be very silly. It had to be ridiculous so that everybody could see how stupid this book is and what a sham it is. Then we got Keith David and Okieriete Onaodowan, who are both such tremendous actors. All of the sudden, it wasn't silly anymore. They made it seem like the book might be good. I love what the scene became in their hands: suddenly you're questioning whether or not the book is good, which is evidence that something as ridiculous as this book could become a hit."
- GoofsIn the beginning of the movie Monk walks out a building whilst being on the phone and holding a coffee cup with a vertical print of the brand Dunkin Donuts. Seconds later, when he gets into a car, the logo on the cup is horizontally printed.
- Quotes
Sintara Golden: Potential is what people see when they think what's in front of them isn't good enough.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards (2024)
- SoundtracksWithout You
Written by Aubrey Johnson
Performed by Ace Spectrum
Published by Ace Spec Music
Courtesy of Mojo Music and Media
Featured review
A work of genius, heart and hilarity
American Fiction
If alphabetical order hadn't put it at the top of the cheat sheets I consult for Oscar predictions, I might never have seen "American Fiction." It would have been my loss. A huge one.
Not painted on the large cinematic canvases of its likely Best Picture competitors like "Oppenheimer," "Barbie," "Killers of the Flower Moon" or "Poor Things," director-co-writer Cord Jefferson's wise comedy scores its bull's-eyes on a life-size target, somewhere between the heart and the brain. The writing is brilliantly original, coming at well-worn black racial themes with eyes so fresh, you feel like you're seeing the subject for the first time.
Jeffrey Wright carries the film, showing a side of himself often missing from past powerhouse dramatic performances. He's lovable ... despite the fact that his character doesn't know how to be. His Thelonius Ellison - you can call him "Monk" - is a prickly, Harvard-educated California university literature professor, author of several novels that no one, other than adoring academic critics, read.
Earning its audacious title, "American Fiction's" plot is as well crafted as its metaphors. Before it's finished, black stereotypes and tone-deaf white efforts to embrace them have fallen under its satirical scalpel. So have the worlds of academia, publishing and Hollywood moviemaking. Its humor is smart and sly. It's no coincidence that Monk shares his last name with author Ralph Ellison, whose "Invisible Man" helped usher in the black American literary renaissance of the '50s and '60s.
While its satire is spot on, at its heart the movie is really about family. Turns out Monk isn't the only "doctor" in his family. His sister Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross) and brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown) are physicians. The Ellisons are upscale enough to have a beach house as well as their big family home where matriarch Agnes (Leslie Uggams) is in the early stages of Alzheimer's All that brain power doesn't make them any less dysfunctional than other families. They just have wittier things to say about it.
After Monk is drawn back to his family roots in Boston, his writing career takes an unexpected turn. What starts as a prank protest of "authentic" portrayals of black people in mainstream culture - notably by overnight-sensation black novelist Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) - inadvertently transforms Monk into a caricature himself. Which, to his dismay, is the path to the literary glory he has spent his life chasing.
"The dumber I behave, the richer I get," he complains to his agent (John Ortiz). (This isn't a spoiler - it's in the trailer.) Considering how intelligent the script is, it's ironic that a single word plays a crucial, and hilarious, role summing things up. You know the word - the one that begins with "F." Watching "American Fiction" is richly rewarding, punctuated by laugh-out-loud moments steeped in real affection for its gently flawed characters. It has already picked up wins at early film festivals; expect plenty more nominations all around its cast and creators as awards season cranks into high gear.
Its rich vein of empathy and compassion make for magnificent fiction. It truly is a work of literature as much as genius filmmaking.
Watching it, I found myself uttering out loud, that word I mentioned above.
For me it wasn't a curse at all, but a spontaneous expression of admiration, awe and pure joy.
If alphabetical order hadn't put it at the top of the cheat sheets I consult for Oscar predictions, I might never have seen "American Fiction." It would have been my loss. A huge one.
Not painted on the large cinematic canvases of its likely Best Picture competitors like "Oppenheimer," "Barbie," "Killers of the Flower Moon" or "Poor Things," director-co-writer Cord Jefferson's wise comedy scores its bull's-eyes on a life-size target, somewhere between the heart and the brain. The writing is brilliantly original, coming at well-worn black racial themes with eyes so fresh, you feel like you're seeing the subject for the first time.
Jeffrey Wright carries the film, showing a side of himself often missing from past powerhouse dramatic performances. He's lovable ... despite the fact that his character doesn't know how to be. His Thelonius Ellison - you can call him "Monk" - is a prickly, Harvard-educated California university literature professor, author of several novels that no one, other than adoring academic critics, read.
Earning its audacious title, "American Fiction's" plot is as well crafted as its metaphors. Before it's finished, black stereotypes and tone-deaf white efforts to embrace them have fallen under its satirical scalpel. So have the worlds of academia, publishing and Hollywood moviemaking. Its humor is smart and sly. It's no coincidence that Monk shares his last name with author Ralph Ellison, whose "Invisible Man" helped usher in the black American literary renaissance of the '50s and '60s.
While its satire is spot on, at its heart the movie is really about family. Turns out Monk isn't the only "doctor" in his family. His sister Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross) and brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown) are physicians. The Ellisons are upscale enough to have a beach house as well as their big family home where matriarch Agnes (Leslie Uggams) is in the early stages of Alzheimer's All that brain power doesn't make them any less dysfunctional than other families. They just have wittier things to say about it.
After Monk is drawn back to his family roots in Boston, his writing career takes an unexpected turn. What starts as a prank protest of "authentic" portrayals of black people in mainstream culture - notably by overnight-sensation black novelist Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) - inadvertently transforms Monk into a caricature himself. Which, to his dismay, is the path to the literary glory he has spent his life chasing.
"The dumber I behave, the richer I get," he complains to his agent (John Ortiz). (This isn't a spoiler - it's in the trailer.) Considering how intelligent the script is, it's ironic that a single word plays a crucial, and hilarious, role summing things up. You know the word - the one that begins with "F." Watching "American Fiction" is richly rewarding, punctuated by laugh-out-loud moments steeped in real affection for its gently flawed characters. It has already picked up wins at early film festivals; expect plenty more nominations all around its cast and creators as awards season cranks into high gear.
Its rich vein of empathy and compassion make for magnificent fiction. It truly is a work of literature as much as genius filmmaking.
Watching it, I found myself uttering out loud, that word I mentioned above.
For me it wasn't a curse at all, but a spontaneous expression of admiration, awe and pure joy.
Helpful•4622
- rickchatenever
- Dec 10, 2023
- Permalink
- How long is American Fiction?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Sprache
- Also known as
- Ficción estadounidense
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,098,470
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $224,469
- Dec 17, 2023
- Gross worldwide
- $22,483,370
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Erika Alexander, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, and Issa Rae in American Fiction (2023)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDlkZmRlYTctNGJmNy00MjVkLThjZDQtMWY5Zjg2NjlhZDZkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,0,90,133_.jpg)