La società americana dei Magical Negroes

I almost didn't take the time to watch this movie streaming on Peacock. The title sure is attention-getting but so many negative reviews and low votes made me hesitant. But I decided to give it 10 minutes, then became invested, and am happy to say the movie is very good, unique, inventive, witty and entertaining. Plus it makes you think.

So why all the bad reviews and low votes? I can only speculate but I believe it is because it hits too close to home and many people feel uncomfortable with the message, that for their own safety black people must keep white people feeling comfortable. But keep in mind it is satire. With a message.

It immediately reminded me of older movies like Will Smith in "Bagger Vance" and Morgan Freeman in "Driving Miss Daisy", plus several others, which represented these sorts of characters.

In this movie Justice Smith plays Aren, a black man, an artist, who often feel invisible. He isn't mistreated, he is just ignored. He gets recruited into this magical society, he is assigned a client, a white man, he must help him feel good about himself and not interfere with anything. That gets hard when both of them get romantic feelings towards their same coworker. Aren has to make a decision, will he remain faithful to his magical assignment, or will he decide to be true to himself?

I was afraid that the last half hour or so would be a disappointment but it wasn't. It concluded with progress on Aren's part, plus additional whimsy and additional magic.

I know it isn't for everyone but the 2/3 of "1" votes are bogus. Strip all those away and what you have left are mostly ratings of "6" or "7."

Could a movie possibly be any LESS aware of what's going on in the country? Did someone really think it was the right time to make this? Who would fund this and why?

How unbelievably inappropriate.

Do they not realize that in order to MAKE this movie they needed access to the ACTUAL magic of FILM and cinema? Technology and methods that were invented in Europe. The actual real life magic of cinema HAS improved EVERYONE'S lives. It is something to be shared and appreciated by ALL. Movies like this serve to, once again, separate and divide. Tragic.

The absolute hypocrisy of this movie is honestly astounding. This will gain ZERO support for the cause it's trying to validate. If anything, this is counter intuitive.

We need more of Jordan Peele and less of these ridiculously self serving fabricated fantasies of toxic filmmakers.

I was hoping to atleast get a couple laughs or see some interesting/fresh takes on black American culture; I was sadly disappointed. I expected so little and was still so let down. I'm mostly confused as to why anyone who want they names attached to such a stupid, ignorant, devisive and hateful script. I'm trying to think of a single redeeming feature of this film... the acting was ok even good at times and the direction wasn't bad. That's all I got.

I do not recommend. Don't waste your time. It's not even worth the watch for the lulz or for watching a train wreck.

It's soul sucking to any decent human being, maybe this should be used down in Gitmo for torture?

I didn't know what this movie was gonna be about I just thought the name was funny. It's starts off awkward, seemed like a typical role for Justice Smith. I was hoping it was gonna have some grandeur to it, I was expecting a really funny black Harry Potter maybe. The premise is a little weird, maybe racist too. And I don't think the movie as a whole was executed well.

I had a couple laughs. Like how they couldn't figure out a better way to design a secret entrance in the barber shop. The speech he gave about the magical society and sharks was hilariously bad. I kept comparing this to American fiction, very unfavorably. It felt like that's what they were trying to do. Felt like it could be funnier. The story and its characters took everything seriously even though the premise felt extremely silly.

Throughout the movie, I was inundated with waves of second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness. The premise relies heavily on white discomfort, well I'm black and I was like "ugh, no" a lot. The movie felt inconsistent, with some scenes seeming okay, as if they belonged in a better film, while others gave me the urge to scream "nooo!!" even louder than Charles Leclerc in France. The final speech was particularly dreadful, it was out of the blue, replete with cringe-inducing moments and also unjustified based off what we saw of the character. He was simply a socially awkward guy, period. It had nothing to do with him being black. The collective sighs of "oh no" from the audience were frequent. I shouldn't say the audience, there were only like 5 other people in the theatre. A lot of scenes were hard to watch.

However, I did like the romantic bits, which could have easily formed the basis of a separate film. I'd certainly be keen to watch a cheesy romcom starring Justice Smith and An Li Bogan.

There were a few bits that I liked, that made me laugh, but this could've been so much better, or maybe not even made at all lol. I don't think the movie had any meaning behind it that it conveyed successfully. I think if I liked the movie, I'd have maybe liked the ending. Instead I thought "oh no, there's gonna be another one."

This movie is not as bad as the 1-star reviewers would have you believe. Reading those reviews it's clear they missed the point - "It's Not the Shark, It's the Water." That said, I think the movie would have done better as a stage play, or maybe with a slightly larger budget it could have been a good limited-run TV show like "Woke" on Hulu.

It's set up like your standard romantic comedy starting with an awkward meet-cute, but then there's a lot of talking - a lot of heartfelt conversations, lots of exposition, a chaotic monologue...little was done to spice things up. Sorry guys but a clearly ADR touched up walk and talk through Echo Park isn't gonna cut it in 2024.

Admittedly, this is not a movie for everyone. If you're not prepared for a slow satirical comedy this movie will frustrate you. If you don't "get" satire, this movie will frustrate you. It's an obvious wink and a nod to certain demographics, and if you know, you know, and if you don't, this movie might make you feel uncomfortable. ;)