The American Society of Magical Negroes Review

Every once in a while, there are films made with the best of intentions but don’t always have a grasp on the right way to express them. While flawed, The American Society of Magical Negroes delivers a strong yet unsubtle fantasy satire whose messaging gets lost amongst a mess of tones and themes as the film tries to be too many things without doing each individual thing good enough. Though its premise did have promise, the film lacks bite and doesn’t go as far as it could have as its commentary will inevitably not sit well with everyone and could come off a little silly as a whole for many. Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the feature directorial debut of Kobi Libii (who also wrote the script) shows some vision and impressive world building but simply lacks focus in fully realizing that world. It has great ideas and does a lot of great things; however, those get lost in the midst of an identity crisis as it fails to settle on a lane. Nevertheless, the film’s saving grace is its performances, primarily the dynamic of Justice Smith and David Alan Grier who have excellent chemistry.

The American Society of Magical Negroes follows Aren (Smith), a young man man and struggling artist who lived most of his life subconsciously navigating around the feelings of White people, putting them first, much to the detriment of he and his own life. One night, he would be given a respite from that life after being somehow recruited to the American Society of Magical Negroes, a secret society of Black people whose sole mission was to dedicate their lives to manage the discomfort of White people and help make their lives easier to alleviate stress on themselves and their own lives. Tying the uncomfortableness of White people to much of the issues plaguing Black America today, the film plays on the common ‘Magical Negro’ trope, or a Black supporting character whose sole purpose is to cater to the main White characters, by having society members essentially play that role in the lives of select White people, unbeknownst to them. Under the watchful eye of veteran Roger (Grier) who recruited him, Aren quickly learned the ropes until getting his first client Jason (Drew Tarver).

Inserting himself into Jason’s life, Aren’s job was to put Jason first above himself and ensure he achieves all of his wants. However, as they became further acquainted with one another, his job became more difficult as his personal feelings entered into the equation. Coming between them was their boss Lizzie (Bogan), a woman who Aren fell for before being assigned to Jason and who just happened to work for the same company as they did. As Aren worked his best to steer Jason in the right direction, he made it harder for him as Jason started to also have feelings for Lizzie. Sharing feelings for one another as co-workers, he never thought it as anything more than a strong work relationship until Aren maybe nudged a little too hard, seemingly loosing out once again in what was essentially a microcosm of his life thus far. That being said, coming face-to-face with the world he was already aware of on a subconscious level, this newfound perspective helped him learn where he truly stood in the world. Putting the wants others before himself for so long, Aren’s new position left him empowered to stand up for himself and he wanted. Therefore, something, unsurprisingly, had to give as many are sure to empathize with his experiences and his arc over the course of the film.

Where many will take offense is the lack of complexity and nuance when it comes to the film’s depiction of the White and Black experiences. They are not as simple as they are depicted here as much of the heavy topics and themes it introduces disappear as the film makes way for a romantic comedy between Aren, Jason, and Lizzie while the satire got mostly pushed to the backburner as it pushed that story forward. Though still fun to watch, had it had a better grasp of how to deliver all of what it had intended, the film would have fared even better. Despite its flaws, Aren and Roger were a blast to watch together as their dynamic was more akin to a father son relationship. The rest of the film was just also fun to watch if seen for what it was rather than what it could have (or should have) been. In the end, with a title like The American Society of Magical Negroes, it is lacking in the magic department. Instead of the true premise, it was more of a means to an end for another one. As a result, the impressive world building it does to set up that world goes to waste.

In the end, the best part of The American Society of Magical Negroes is its performances, led by Smith and Grier. Aren, a character supposedly meant to be an analog for the modern Black experience, works because of Smith’s inherent charm and likeability. While flawed, it is easy to relate to his position in the world and his various insecurities and frustrations that stemmed from it. Aren is a rootable character. Grier shines in a mentor type role as Roger, bringing boatloads of wisdom and perspective and stealing scenes. The chemistry between Smith and Grier made the film but there was plenty of chemistry to go around. Smith, Tarver, and Bogan had it as well, especially Smith and Bogan as Jason was a character that bordered on caricaturish territory, being merely a hurdle.

At the end of the day, The American Society of Magical Negroes is an impressive debut that lacks magic but remains a solid satirical comedy missing focus and bite.

still courtesy of Focus Features

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.