PG-13 2024 Comedy/Fantasy 1h 45m
It’s only mid-March so there’s a decent chance that it won’t even make my year-end list, but
The American Society of Magical Negroes is my favorite new movie of 2024 so far. It’s clever. It’s fun. It’s well-acted. It’s well-directed. It has a message. And, unlike so many movies these days, it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
The “Magical Negro” is a movie cliché of Black characters who only exist to provide advice and aid to the movie’s white protagonist. In this movie, they serve that purpose and are literally magic as well. Roger (David Alan Grier) recruits and mentors Aren (Justice Smith, Dungeons & Dragons) in this secret society. Members are assigned a specific white person and can monitor their comfort levels by visualizing a gauge of “white tears.” Aren is assigned to help Jason, but his assignment becomes difficult when Aren and Jason are both attracted to Lizzie (An-Li Bogan).
David Alan Grier is known for his comedy but brings some dramatic chops to Roger. I don’t recall having seen An-Li Bogan before but she is charming and you can see why Aren and Jason are drawn to her. This is writer/director Kobi Libii’s first movie and I look forward to seeing what else he will do.
Comments