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The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> (2024)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Focus\/Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 104 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (some strong language, suggestive material, thematic material)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Kobi Libii\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Kobi Libii\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Michael Abels\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Doug Emmett\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: March 15, 2024 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Justice Smith, David Allen Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Michaela Watkins, Aisha Hinds, Tim Baltz, Rupert Friend, Nicole Byer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Rating<\/strong>: * \u00bd<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Never let it be said The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> isn\u2019t ambitious. It is. Perhaps too much so. Writer-director Kobi Libii bites off more than he can chew in this flawed first effort in which he attempts unsuccessfully to blend social satire, magical realism and rom-com into a palatable dish. It\u2019s barely edible.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0I didn\u2019t dislike everything about The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> which is why it rates an extra half-star. I\u2019ll circle back to this momentarily. First, I\u2019m going to break it down and explain why the film doesn\u2019t work on any of the levels attempted. I\u2019ll start with social satire which appears to be the main reason for the film\u2019s existence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The opening titles define a \u201cMagical Negro\u201d as a supporting character whose sole purpose is serving the narrative of a white protagonist. We\u2019ve all met a MN on at least one occasion in our visits to the reel world. It turns out they\u2019re all part of a secret society of black men and women whose job it is to make whites feel comfortable around people of color. They\u2019ve been living among us since the days of slavery using their magic to deescalate potentially volatile situations. They\u2019re expected to be deferential to white people at all times as well no matter what the scenario. It\u2019s an interesting idea that lends itself well to satire. Unfortunately, Libii doesn\u2019t know where to go with it. Rather, he doesn\u2019t seem to want to tread into dangerous territory lest he open a political Pandora \u2019s box. Excuse me, but isn\u2019t that the point of satire, to make waves? There has to be a sharp edge or else what\u2019s the point? There\u2019s no bite to The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong>. It\u2019s more like a gentle poke in the ribs. The subject of race in modern society calls for way more than that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Let\u2019s look at the magical realism aspect of The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> next. Okay, so the members all have symbiotic magical powers. They can teleport, levitate, move objects and read the anxiety level of \u201cclients\u201d. Are they learned powers or do all black people have them? If a member breaks a rule (e.g. putting their own needs or desires ahead of the client), everybody\u2019s powers fail. This is about all we learn. We also don\u2019t get a lot of 411 on the group itself. Are there chapters in other places around the world? What is the actual power structure? While one lady (Hinds, 9-1-1) is introduced as the president, there\u2019s another woman (comedian Byer) who appears to outrank her. And how does David Alan Grier\u2019s character fit in? Is he in a position of power or just a senior member? Libii doesn\u2019t offer up much in the way of explanation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Finally, there\u2019s the whole rom-com thing. So it\u2019s like this. Failed artist Aren (Smith, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) is recruited by Roger (Grier, In Living Color) after the latter saves him from a beatdown stemming from a misunderstanding involving a drunk white girl. Aren is one of those meek, super-polite black people who live in constant fear of offending the wrong white person. He is the very epitome of severe anxiety. Roger brings him into the fold and after helping a white cop (Baltz, The Righteous Gemstones) gain self-confidence, sends him in his first solo assignment. He\u2019s to help Jason (comedian Tarver), a tech bro at the social media company Meetbox, with his problems. It seems he\u2019s at a standstill in his professional and personal lives. At work, he\u2019s tasked with helping fix a problem with his company\u2019s facial recognition software. It doesn\u2019t recognize black people, a glitch that becomes a PR nightmare for the outfit. He also has feelings for his \u201cwork wife\u201d Lizzie (Bogan, After Yang), the more capable of the two who constantly gets sidelined by the higher-ups. Here\u2019s the rub. Aren has feelings for Lizzie too, feelings that she reciprocates unlike Jason who she barely acknowledges outside their professional relationship. Aren, as per Society bylaws, is expected to set aside his own desires and help his white client get the girl. How many rom-coms have this same set-up (minus the magic and secret society stuff, of course)?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0I liked two things in The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong>. First, Libii tosses in some funny gags about MN movies like The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Green Mile and Driving Miss Daisy. I got a laugh from them. They were pointed and 100% accurate. They speak to the film\u2019s alleged purpose. Nothing else is as funny. Second, An-Li Bogan is absolutely endearing as the romantic interest dealing with discrimination issues of her own. I\u2019ve never seen her before, but I truly hope to see her again soon. She has definite star potential.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The rest of The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> they can keep. I get how hard it is to make an effective satire. It has to be pointed and it has to make a point. I\u2019m not clear what the point of The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> is. What\u2019s it trying to say? I know it has something to do with black people always being hyper-vigilant about whites seeing them as a threat. Why then doesn\u2019t it also address black rage? It waits until it\u2019s almost over to even allow Aren to express his anger over how he\u2019s treated by his co-worker\/client. It would have been a powerful scene if not for all the pointless meandering that preceded it. Also, and this is really confounding, why is there absolutely no mention of black revolutionaries like Malcolm X or Huey Newton? Do radical black politics even exist in this world? Is this a multiverse type situation? Libii refuses to explain himself or the world he built.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0We\u2019re living in precarious times. Race has always been an issue, but it\u2019s become especially volatile lately with police shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement. A truly bold filmmaker would tackle these issues head on. A truly gifted one would know how to approach it with the right satirical edge. Libii isn\u2019t that filmmaker apparently. The American Society of Magical Negroes<\/strong> is a near total failure that not only wimps out, but also tries to make up for its failings with a simplistic happy ending that feels false and forced. There\u2019s simply no reason to see it.<\/p>\r\n The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Focus\/Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 104 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (some strong language, suggestive material, thematic material)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Kobi Libii\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Kobi Libii\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Michael Abels\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Doug Emmett\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: March 15, 2024 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Justice Smith, David Allen Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Michaela Watkins, Aisha Hinds, Tim Baltz, Rupert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comedies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-American-Society-of-Mag.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1042,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions\/1042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-American-Society-of-Magical-Negroes-POSTER.jpg?resize=620%2C918&ssl=1\")
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