American Fiction

By Joanna Langfield

Here’s a satire that’s as smart as it is funny, grounded as it is impressively nimble.

Writer/director Cord Jefferson gets his film career off to an impressive debut with this truly entertaining, but never too cozy satire. Poking at everything from the inherent racism of art to the more traditional cranky guy who’s more comfortable in his frustration than he is with others who may love him, Jefferson takes on a lot. But boy does he negotiate it with determination and ease. Helps that he’s brought a grand group of players to help him tell the tale. And they’re led by the inimitable Jeffrey Wright, who brings a dramatic actor’s sense of commitment to his role which makes him all the more relatable and funny.

Here’s the deal: Literature writer Monk (his real name is Thelonious) is forced into a leave of absence from his professorship when, by using the “n” word, he makes a young, white female student uncomfortable. Off he goes to Boston, where his kind of estranged family awaits, along with their various complications. Does he need this? Well, when Monk suddenly finds himself the primary caretaker responsible for an ailing mother, needing money for her care, he decides to throw caution to the wind and write one of those stupid, stereotypical street type books. He’ll cash in and go back to his more serious work. But then, realizing he’ll have to promote the thing, he adopts a 180 degree different persona, creating a felon turned author who knows of the tragedy and violence of which he writes. Monk keeps thinking it’s a big, horrible goof. Until it isn’t.

It’s a treat to watch Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown and Leslie Uggams, all wonderful in wisely fleshed out parts. But the joy is Wright, who seems to revel in the role and the script. He and the whip-smart movie that surrounds him make exhilarating company.