Am I Racist? (2024)    SDG Releasing/Documentary-Comedy    RT: 101 minutes    Rated PG-13 (strong language, thematic material, some sexual references)    Director: Justin Folk    Screenplay: Justin Folk, Brian Hoffman, Matt Walsh and Dallas Sonnier    Music: Uncle Chubbz    Cinematography: Anton Seim    Release date: September 13, 2024 (US)    Cast: Matt Walsh.

Rating: ** ½

 Prior to seeing the mockumentary Am I Racist?, I never gave the conservative media company The Daily Wire much thought. In fact, I didn’t think of it at all. I’m not into that sort of thing. I definitely didn’t know they made and distributed films. Their titles include Run Hide Fight, Shut In and the documentary What Is a Woman? I’ve never seen any of them because they didn’t play theatrically.

 SDG Releasing, the studio behind Am I Racist?, is new on the scene. Founded by filmmakers Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman (directors of the Christian horror film Nefarious/writers of God’s Not Dead 1 & 2), it’s “designed by filmmakers for filmmakers”. It “combats industry corruption with honesty, transparency and low costs, ensuring fair and accessible distribution for all.” It just entered into an exclusive contract with The Daily Wire. Am I Racist? is their first collaboration and first-ever theatrical release. I didn’t know any of this until I started my pre-review research. Now you all know too.

 Political commentator Matt Walsh is the star of Am I Racist?, a comedic documentary not unlike Borat, the 2006 mockumentary starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the titular Kazakhstani immigrant. In it, he talks to Americans about their customs, often offending them in the process. Walsh does something quite similar in Am I Racist?

 In order to gain a better understanding of racism and white privilege, Walsh goes on a journey of self-discovery only he has to do it undercover because he’s too recognizable as himself. Posing as a beta male like the gender studies professor he interviewed in his previous mockumentary What Is a Woman?, he talks to various experts on the subject of racism and what he can do to be a better, non-racist white guy. He starts by getting certified as a D.E.I Expert (i.e. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion). He then goes about “doing the work” which entails paying so-called anti-racism experts exorbitant fees to tell him why he’s a racist.

 In addition, Walsh does some pretty outlandish and dangerous things like circulate a petition to have the George Washington Monument renamed for George Floyd and painted black. Surprisingly, a lot of people sign it. He also talks to a bunch of bikers at a redneck bar about racism. I am astonished he didn’t get beat up.

 Why don’t we just cut right to the chase? Here’s what Am I Racist? is really about. What Walsh is actually doing is exposing the anti-racism industry as a huge scam. The people he talks to, like White Women authors Regina Jackson and Saira Rao, are con artists who charge white people thousands of dollars to be told how racist they are. He also talks to the mother of the two little black girls who were snubbed by the character Rosita at Sesame Place in 2022. She got paid $50K to sit down for an interview in which she doesn’t say anything new or profound. The experts throw around terms like “microaggression”, “trigger” and “systematic racism”, but it’s just a lot of yada-yada. I don’t think they know what they’re talking about half the time. And this is coming from a liberal (yes, I finally admit it!).

 I can’t say for sure if I liked Am I Racist? or not. Some of it is amusing like when Walsh gets White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo to apologize to his “black friend” Ben and hand over her own money as “reparation”. Other times, I just wanted these people to stop talking. I was getting a headache listening to their BS. Again, this is coming from a liberal.

 I have to say Walsh makes some interesting points about racism in American society and how it’s perpetuated by the very people who speak out against it. How he goes about getting the message across is bold. This guy is a real piece of work. I can’t say I share his conservative mindset, but I admire his moxie.

 So do I recommend Am I Racist? Let me put it this way. Its audience will find it in much the same way as Dinesh D’Souza’s documentaries found their demographic. As far as I’m concerned, it made me think about something uncomfortable. It’s not what I call entertainment, but it cleared up a few things about the world we live in today.