The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A young man, Aren, is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.

My Take – While the recently released highly acclaimed directorial debut of writer-director Cord Jefferson, American Fiction, acted as an absurdist and clever satire response to how white liberals require an outlet to empathize with the sufferings and how the broadness of Black culture has gotten reduced to cliché, this latest fantasy comedy, written and directed by Kobi Libii in his directorial debut, satirizes the ‘magical negro’ trope by focusing on white discomfort.

The term that was brought into the mainstream by filmmaker Spike Lee and criticized the Hollywood trope of stereotypical Black supporting characters that existed solely to help a white protagonist achieve their goals. Aiming to be provocative, the film skewers this ideology by combining a Harry Potter-esque narrative with romantic comedy elements.

An idea that excels in originality and clever plot lines, yet between trying too hard to be funny and following a predictable arc, the result ends up feeling lacking. Leaving us instead us with a halfhearted rom com with nothing close to witty. The very premise of the film would suggest it’s going to be a comedy, maybe something that addresses racism in a way that everyone can still enjoy.

But at its best, the film skewers the potentially eye-rolling concept of white fragility with visual panache. This is the kind of film where it has an interesting premise and it could have explored interesting satirical themes and ideas but instead, it offers little once falling back from its initial big swing.

The story follows Aren (Justice Smith), a young struggling biracial African-American fiber artist, who has been failing to sell any of his pieces at a crowded gallery opening. He’s further embarrassed when a white patron mistakes him for a waiter. But instead of being offended or correcting the slight, he dutifully goes to fetch a cocktail. Sometime later he even finds himself in an awkward encounter near an ATM, thankfully, Roger (David Allen Grier), a seemingly innocuous bartender who had noticed Aren’s passive reaction earlier, comes to his rescue and de-escalates the situation.

Taking him under his wing, Roger as it turns out is a member of a secret society in which a select group of Black people are given special abilities to assist in making the lives of white people easier. Because keeping white people comfortable is the only way to keep them from killing black people. Quickly joining the ranks, Aren’s first assignment places him at a trendy start-up tech company, to help an employee named Jason (Drew Tarver), whose white discomfort is hitting a peak due to work struggles.

Though Aren starts off well by boosting his confidence, problems begin to arise when he develops feeling for Lizzie (An-Li Bogan), a beautiful and engaging colleague, who Jason has also been crushing on. This poses a huge threat to his assignment, because one of the major rules of the society is that you must keep your client’s interest above all else, or the magic that keeps the society running will fail.

Indeed, the concept is extremely fascinating and the world building tremendously creative and often funny. Unfortunately, besides a few comedic moments here and there, the whole concept of this secret society dedicated to serving white people becomes unnecessary for the argument the film is trying to make. One of the primary issues with the film is its lackluster plot which is riddled with clichés and predictable twists, making it difficult to stay engaged. The film attempts to tackle ‘sensitive’ themes but it does so in a superficial and often clumsy manner.

Despite the title and supposed intended message, Aren’s dilemma becomes the real story here, not actual insight into race relations. I would’ve settled for more riffs on the absurdity of the magical Negro archetype, and how it has evolved over the years. We see it in bits and pieces, wonderfully opulent flashbacks to past members of the Society.

But we don’t get a real sense of the group, the scope of what they do, and how they began. It seems that director Kobi Libii simply wanted to make a film about an awkward mixed-race guy navigating a volatile racial climate at the company whose facial recognition software doesn’t recognize Black faces, while also trying to find love.

And so he shoehorned it into this other idea he had spoofing the magical Negro trope, and the two don’t make sense together. The lack of depth in exploring these themes leaves much to be desired and results in a film that feels more like a missed opportunity than a meaningful commentary.

Performances wise, Justice Smith is earnest, especially in his final monologue and shares excellent chemistry with the very charming and likable An-Li Bogan. David Alan Grier brings in yet another solid turn, while Nicole Byer, who plays the society’s president, steals every scene that she’s in, easily getting the most laughs out of anyone in the cast.

In other roles, Drew Tarver, Michaela Watkins, Aisha Hinds and Rupert Friend are alright. On the whole, ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’ is a missed opportunity undermined by weak plotting and execution.