American Fiction – A Review in Brief

This Movie IS For:

• Those who believe meta-commentary is part of a balanced breakfast
• Just about anyone else

This Movie is NOT For:

• Writers high on their own shit that can’t laugh at themselves
• People looking for a serious drama with an A–> B –> C plot

Brief Review with Minor Spoilers:

To review this film at all feels like an incredibly ironic and meta task. Still, I’m going to try. On the surface, American Fiction is a film about a writer who is fed up with the current state of what people are writing… and I resonated with that. Within the first five minutes, I knew I was going to enjoy this movie. Writer’s bias aside, there are some wonderful performances and a true emotional core that is buoyed rather than cheapened by consistent laughs.

American Fiction has its feet firmly planted in two genres, comedy, and family drama. It’s a complex line to toe, but the movie does it well. There is a sense of whiplash when it goes from moments of laughing out loud to sudden tragedy, and that feels like it mirrors life. Given the plot, it’s cringeworthy to call the story poignant, but it is. The humor is sharp and shines a light on white guilt in one half, and pretentious writers with the other. Being a white writer, the film had both barrels pointed firmly in my direction, and I couldn’t stop laughing at myself.

 While meta-commentary is an overarching theme in the film, I never felt like it was too into itself to be taken seriously. The story is ostensibly about the writer, but much of what I remember ended up being the family dynamics that happened in the background. Two stories are being told at the same time: One is that of a self-absorbed writer trying to figure out how to relate, and the other is a family struggling with tragedy on many levels and fighting disconnection. Both resonated with me in their own way and still managed to be cohesive, despite varying tones.

In the end, I think that’s American Fiction’s greatest achievement. It’s a biting comedy but also a family story that anyone can relate to. All the actors bring stark humanity to their characters, but I was particularly enamored by Sterling K. Brown as a coke-addled, recently out, plastic surgeon. He’s only in the movie for 15-20 minutes, but every time he’s on screen, he steals the show and weirdly grounds the film despite his quirkier antics.

If I had one complaint, it’s that pieces of the film felt rushed, but even still, I highly recommend American Fiction. It’s uplifting, biting, and hilarious. As a writer that is constantly bitching about Tik Tok trauma porn books, it struck a specific nerve. It made me reconsider the way I look at what’s popular with readers and assess my own biases. I’d watch it again in a heartbeat.

4.5/5 stars – It’s about writing, but also, is it?

More info about how I rate films here.