The American Society of Magical Negroes

I love David Allen Grier and Justice Smith and I love their chemistry. This movie did get slow at times, but it did bring things to my attention that I had been previously unaware of. I had such little understanding of what black peoples lives were like on a daily basis and how much discrimination they have to deal with. BLM opened my eyes to a lot and this movie helps further that. I'm baffled by the copious amounts of bad reviews. I wouldn't watch this again, but I'm glad I did once. Things have to change and even though this movie didn't get a great reception it's an important step forward. Keep talking about uncomfortable things, because that's the only way things will change.

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. ;)

I'm really shocked ANYONE at ANY POINT thought this script was a good idea. It's one of those films that makes you uncomfortable - not due to the tropes they included, but because of the fact that this is just lazy lazy LAZY writing!

Any sort of movement forward has been pushed back by decades thanks to the 'brain trust' that came up with this garbage. It's 2024 - we're better than this, aren't we?

The premise of this whole film is insulting to our people - in ALL regards. The fact that it bombed at the box office is of no shock - nor should it be to anyone who saw it. Thank goodness we have American Fiction; at least that spectacular film made its point w/o being ridiculous .

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."