 Regal Theatres had one of their Monday mystery movie events and I went to it, hoping it wouldn't be a complete disaster. Because more often than not, I find myself very disappointed with what's being shown. So I was wonderfully surprised when I was instantly won over by this little flick called American Fiction for a while until I wasn't anymore. Let's talk about it. This will be spoiler-free as the movie doesn't come out for a little while still. The film revolves around Jeffrey Wright's character known as Monk. Not his real name, but the name he goes by. It's easier for us white folks to pronounce. He's a professor at a college. He's also a novelist. He's a writer. He wants to tell stories that don't revolve around the color of his skin, but he's finding it very hard to do so as the world wants to hear generic stories from its authors, from people that have stories to tell even if they're not necessarily genuine. And he's finding that he's a very cynical man as he gets older. Now I myself can relate to him as a black man myself. No, obviously I'm white as a fucking ghost, but I can appreciate the plight. I can appreciate the fact that this guy is a little jaded. He sees the kind of garbage that gets pushed to the forefront. He sees the pandering. He sees the easy bucks being made. He doesn't want to have anything to do with it. He wants to tell stories that are genuine from the heart or have some fascination to it, have bigger words than, fuck you. But he's gonna find in order to make some money he has to kind of start pandering more. This movie half focuses on the cynicism of being a writer of trying to turn a buck in Hollywood or in the book industry or really any industry full stop, especially in America. It also focuses on the family side of Monk, his mom, his sister, his brother, and that kind of tattered relationship he has with these people. He has isolated himself from them. He doesn't want to go back home. He has a cushy life away. But he's called back due to some unforeseen circumstances due to the fact that he just can't let others in and understand where he's coming from. Now, I started this by saying the movie had me for a long time until it didn't. And it's because the writer who is really sharp here, let me look up the name on IMDb. The writer, we have writers, Cor Jefferson and Percival Everett. He's also directed by Cor Jefferson. They get it. They're sharp. They got some great commentary in this movie. The problem is they might get it a little too much. They might be up their own ass a bit much because they can't figure out a way to really stick the landing for me. So instead they opt to do a Wayne's World-esque several different endings sort of a thing. And man, I got to tell you, I was really bummed because I was on the hook for an hour and 20 minutes. But that last 20 just really let me down. This is a two-hour film. I know I didn't do my math right, but that counts credits. So you're looking at an hour 50, maybe hour 50 and some change. I've said this criticism so many times. I'm getting sick to my stomach about it. But two hours is too long for a lot of these films. And a movie like this could have been told in a shorter runtime. There are sections that feel a little padded out that don't need to exist. That kind of, for instance, the entire plot. This isn't a spoiler because this is the plot. The entire plot revolves around Monk not making it in the industry as a writer. He's putting out really good fine material, but people don't want that. They want McDonald's. They want Marvel. That's what sells. And so he, because he's jaded and bitter, decides, you know what, as like an extra sprinkling of fuck you, I'm going to submit to my publicist one of the worst written pieces of schlock I've ever put pen to pad on. I'm going to make a movie that's so stereotypical, so blackish, you know, crime-ridden, cops going after the black man, being, you know, selling drugs. Just every single cliche you can think of. And I'm going to have him talk with the most ebonic style I can think of. And it works. The publishers love it and it becomes a massive hit. And every time it gets more success, he dies a little bit more inside. I assume that the trailers showcase this as the main draw. I didn't see a trailer for this. I knew nothing about it going in. And so I stayed. I was on board, even though I knew exactly where it was going, about 25 minutes before I got there. And that's where I say this could have been an hour and a half, because we take a long time establishing this character, establishing family, establishing the fact that he doesn't want to do what he's going to end up doing. And we all know he's going to end up doing it. It's fine to take that to a point, but it should have stopped spinning its wheels and just went for it. And again, that brings me back to the ending. It doesn't go for it. It's so, it's so like hung up on all the cliches on all the generic film endings with the powerful speech or the love story or this or that that we've seen a bunch of times that it just says, fuck it. I'm not going to do any of it or I'm going to do all of it. And it just becomes this kind of mess that I did not get on board with. And I think a lot of basic moviegoers, which I still consider myself kind of a mainstream basic bitch, they're not going to like that either. So then you fall into the art house category, the hipster category of it. And some of those people will dig it. And that's fine. This is a competently made movie. It looks really nice. You know, good cinematography, good score. Again, these are superficial things that pretty much every movie kind of sticks now. By 2023, we have very nice cameras. This, I will say, doesn't have an ugly digital look. It does feel like a film, which is sorely missing from a lot of films in 2023, 2022, 2021. It's been a few years of this digital revolution that kind of has uglified and cheapened films for me. That said, I just, I don't really have much else to say. Really good performances. There was a lovable character here. There was a lovable, it was a lovable film, really. I was, I was on board. It warmed my heart. It kept me interested. I liked that it addressed this issue that has become so obvious in social media and in movies. And that is the freaking pandering that's going on. Disney's doing it. Hollywood's doing it in general where, oh, we got to make this person gay. We got to make this person trans. People want to see black people struggling and being slaves and being this. We've seen it all. We get it. You've become so cliche. It's so on the nose. How about some subtlety? Let's put down the Big Mac and maybe go for the steak next time. Maybe take a little bit and savor the meal. Come up with some ingredients to put in it. Cut the fat and make it work. I know there's fat on steak and that's sometimes the best part. So my analogy kind of lost its way around the middle mark there. Kind of like the film. All right. Those are my thoughts on American fiction. Is that what it's called? American fiction? Did I just pull that out of my eye? Oh it is. It's on the TV behind me. Those are my thoughts on American fiction. Not a bad film. In fact, it's decent. But again, a little too long and that ending just really kills it for me. It really killed the whole vibe. You might not feel the same way. It is an Amazon movie. It's weird to see the MGM logo with Amazon underneath. It's really weird to see the Orion logo from back in the 80s. And then like Amazon. It's an Amazon joint. That was bizarre to me. I have not seen the new Orion logo. I haven't seen it. I don't think. I don't recall if I have, but weird. Weird seeing four or five massive companies owning everything. It's depressing. It's crippling really. Let me know if you saw this at the early sneak peek or if you're planning on seeing it. Put a comment down below. Please like the video if you like the video. Subscribe if you haven't. I post tons of movie content. Reviews, roasts, live streams every single week. I live and breathe this shit. So if you do, please join me. All right. I would love to have more of you. And again, I pride myself much like Monk. I'm not selling out. I'm not beating the dead horse. I'm not taking one road and running with it. I like to be honest and genuine and just give you my thoughts and talk movies and hear from you. So if you like that, please join me on Patreon. I'm a one man operation. It's Adam does movies or become a member right here on YouTube via the join button. 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