The American Society of Magical Negroes Reviews

There's a lot to be said for a movie that chooses to trust its audience's intelligence. For his feature directorial debut, writer-director Kobi Libii chooses to trust that viewers will be familiar enough with the "magical negro" trope of cinema and literature to understand the film's underlying satire; however, moments of doubt appear to creep through here and there that prevent the film from realizing the full potential of its core concepts. Libii showcases the film's racial themes almost immediately. The film's opening scenes depict Aren (Justice Smith) as a struggling artist whose race is at least partly to blame for his inability to be taken seriously. After nearly becoming the victim of racially motivated violence, the mystical Roger (David Alan Grier) introduces him to the film's titular society. While the premise of a black society aimed at serving white people seems to ooze with problematic "Uncle Tom" stereotypes, Roger mildly subverts this by explaining that their purpose ultimately serves black people as well. By kowtowing to whites, they aim to keep the targets off their own backs. This is where the film's themes immediately start to become a bit muddled. In order to make sense of the society he's created, Libii succeeds in devising a rather clever reimagining of the trope in question. The problem is that this reimagining almost justifies the trope a bit too much. This means that early attempts to satirize the trope lose some of their bite, even when the attempts are more than obvious. A particularly on-the-nose example occurs when society member Gabbard (Aisha Hinds) tries to illustrate the society's purpose by showing Aren memories of scenes clearly meant to spoof The Green Mile.Given how that story ends, this could be a strong choice for calling into question the effectiveness of the society, yet the film loses that plot almost immediately so Aren can pursue a romantic subplot with Lizzie (An-Li Bogan). This circles back around to Lizzie's frustrations with her bosses, Mick (Rupert Friend) and Masterson (Michaela Watkins), as they choose to reward white man Jason (Drew Tarver) for Lizzie's hard work.This nearly feels effective, as it mirrors Aren's own professional woes at the beginning of the film. It also conveniently ties into the society, as Jason is the man Aren's meant to help. The problem is that involving Lizzie at all blurs the line between whether Aren's moral compass is challenged more by racial concerns or merely by his desire to protect the woman he just met and has already fallen for.The plot particularly falls apart in the third act. The core conflict arises because Aren's desire to help Lizzie instead of Jason threatens to destroy the society's magic. This seems to imply no one else has ever failed to help their target before, and it's such a baffling plot point that it feels like a line Libii inserted into a second draft to handwave plot concerns while avoiding more extensive rewrites.That's not to say anything in the movie is particularly bad. Smith and Grier both give predictably reliable performances, and those who only know Hinds from her TV work should find her role here a bit refreshing. Meanwhile, Libii definitely has chops as a director, utilizing his shot selections to milk the most mystique possible out of some rather small set pieces.Sadly, this all leads the film to feel twice as underwhelming. It's clear that Libii knows how to shoot a great film. The main problem is that he attempts to satirize common tropes while still leaning heavily on others. The movie relies too strongly on the predictable romance subplot, which takes away from the far more personal journey Aren might've undergone. When the film decides to reveal an unexpected feminist twist, it feels unearned in the face of this awkward young man having jeopardized an entire society for the sake of a woman. The film remains entirely watchable, but these unfortunate storytelling choices prevent it from being the truly magical and unique experience it might have otherwise been.