LIKES:
The Pace -The pace is fun, decently fast, and keeps the gear-shift in a setting that gives you plenty without getting lost in the details -A steady opening to give you the theme of the tale quickly transitions to the main event, and the lines and dialogue make time pass by without feeling like a slog.
-All this keeps to a very engaging pace that suits this genre well and adds a bit of something to the movie to help support it. Plus, nothing wrong with a shorter movie to respect your time.
The Concept Is Unique -Libii knows how to craft a unique tale with this script that takes some serious political topics and merges it with fun.
-The society is about saving the world in a unique way by catering to people and the chaos that comes when their rules aren't followed.
-Libbi's writing is very smart at times, blending genres together into a story that at times is respectful and handles the character material well.
-And some of the lines hold sharp jabs and cultural phrasing that is razor sharp like a rapier that stabs at just the right amount to make the point.
-And the way the magic system works is a nice combination that holds both comedic and intriguing properties to explore in the world.
The Rom Com Is Genuine -This film also has a romance aspect in it, and like Anyone But You, there is a sincerity that is makes this relationship stand out more than the usual.
-There are familiar tropes and elements that have become a staple in this film, flirting, corny dialogue and the inevitable poetic jealousy.
-Yet, ASMN manages to clean up the corniness and turn the relationship into something real, with awkward attempts at dialogue and a friendship building.
-It takes the problems of the characters and incorporates them as a part (not the only thing) of their characters, giving me more interesting and relatable stories to follow and root for.
-And it's still charmingly fun and engaging, nicely incorporated into the plot overall and not just forced in for getting more fans.
Some Decent Character Development -And those points mentioned above about the story gave me characters with a lot more depth than I had expected in a satire given my experience.
-Aren's story has some surprising emotion to it and as the story progresses turned more and more relatable to follow and invest, at least on some levels.
-His mentor Roger holds some shocking levels with decent time commitment to give a little more layering without consuming the other elements in this film.
-And Lizzie and Jason's arcs are pulled together to form a parallel tale that integrates the antics and uses them to develop the secondary (though close to primary) characters to not leave them in the dust.
-To balance this many characters into a movie as well, not an easy task. Though not perfect, the big players still get to play for much of the movie as the trailers suggested.
Good Acting -Most of the actors in the billed are first billed, so I'm going to focus on the three main ones that I believe leave an impact.
-An-Li Bogan is the type of leading lady that is engaging to watch for me. Strong, vulnerable, loving, and tough are the characteristics of the character Lizzie, which work in tandem to make a love interest worth pursuing. She's not too stand-offish, nor is she a damsel in distress and there is never that tip of the scales into something she is not.
-David Alan Grier is quite a fit for the mentor role. Tough and snarky at one point during his more imposing roles, he serves as that foreboding mystery. While the sincere side holds that exposure to something more and fosters a bond I wanted to explore more. I loved how he delivered the lines, his comedy sassy, but never insulting too much like some others do.
-It was Justice Smith who was my favorite though. The lead role is handled sensationally by this young man who keeps stretching his acting to levels that suggest he can do just about anything. From catty jokes, sincere kindness, odd love, and more, he manages to bring his A game and give me one of the better performances in this genre.
Powerful Monologue With A Tasteful Finish -The movie eventually comes to a very tense point that will divide a lot of audience.
-For me, the movie handles it pretty well, the monologue at the end preachy, but holds emotional rawness and artistic nature that is pleasant to hear for fans like me.
-And the way things wrap up is a campy poke to typical genre trends and bending them to the will of the movie. It's tasteful despite the content and a surprising finish given some of the dislikes I had for the movie.
DISLIKES:
Predictable/Trailers Ruined A Lot -Sadly, this movie is a victim to the modern time of showing too much in a movie.
-Any who have seen the promotions has about 80% of the story's direction already known with only the consequences being the unknown.
-Libii's writing though holds a lot of foreshadowing phrases that kind of push you to knowing what is coming. Only the last scene really surprised me, which given the alluring mystery this world had, was disappointing.
Some Characters Are Wasted -There isn't much to say at this aspect other than some characters turned out to be disappointing in the grand scheme of the movie.
-While some serve as cameos that are fun and cheeky, there are many that are just boring and more talking than actually contributing to the story.
-The biggest disappointment was the head of the magical society, a foreboding woman who seems to have a lot more to her story. Yet, outside of some comedic moments, this character did little to live up to anything more than a weak cameo. L -Other characters have the same problem, and the society aspect seems a tad lost to anything but a crude joke..
No Major Threat -Despite the hints of the trailer, suspense and consequences in this movie are rather lacking in my opinion.
-The magical society's consequences are hyped up in the trailer and yet still results in very limited suspense or story elements despite a grandiose intro to what happens with the rules.
-On one benefit you do get some witty jokes and dialog catered to a certain comedic style, but otherwise, this is an empty threat with little need in the grand scheme of the story.
Tries Too Hard -Another aspect that was hard for me to ignore was the movie trying too hard at times in certain elements.
-One part is the comedy. Libii at times put fantastic jokes in the film and cleverly integrated them in a natural way that worked for me.
-And other times it felt very SNL, where they try a little too hard to get that zinger in, or perhaps go a bit too far with a joke that it wasn't funny, but annoying to me.
-The same is true for a certain story element, primarily the racism track this movie plays and going a bit too far to preach a point that it becomes the new "Full House" commentary.
It Crosses Lines That Are Going To Trigger -Finally, I leave a warning that this movie may trigger or feel limited to a certain niche.
-This is to be expected if you scope the trailer out, but there were moments that the movie's assertive comedy are going to become offensive or say something harshly enough to drive people away.
-For me there are times it works, but there are times that more sensitive viewers may find it frustrating to keep watching the movie.
The VERDICT:
The American Society of Magical Negroes is an idea that excels in originality and clever plot lines that brings a lot of genres together with entertaining qualities. Crafting a more realistic and relatable tale, this romantic comedy and political drama is quite a fun film in how it handles most of its characters and the material they wanted to address. With some good acting, humorous dialogue, and surprising balance in most concepts, this movie turned out to have some magic of its own. Yet, the potential was not fully reached to me, and some of the elements promised in the advertisements sort of lost that magical touch the further into the film I went. Between trying too hard to be funny, consequences feeling lacking, and predictable arc thanks to said trailers, the movie just doesn't have the finesse or full finish for me to say the best film of the year so far. A final warning that this movie may be a bit niche despite the important elements I liked, this film is going to be a toss of a coin if you go to the theater to see it. I'd say better viewing at home if I had to choose. My scores for this film are:
Comedy/Fantasy: 5.5-6.0 Movie Overall: 5.5.
The Pace -The pace is fun, decently fast, and keeps the gear-shift in a setting that gives you plenty without getting lost in the details -A steady opening to give you the theme of the tale quickly transitions to the main event, and the lines and dialogue make time pass by without feeling like a slog.
-All this keeps to a very engaging pace that suits this genre well and adds a bit of something to the movie to help support it. Plus, nothing wrong with a shorter movie to respect your time.
The Concept Is Unique -Libii knows how to craft a unique tale with this script that takes some serious political topics and merges it with fun.
-The society is about saving the world in a unique way by catering to people and the chaos that comes when their rules aren't followed.
-Libbi's writing is very smart at times, blending genres together into a story that at times is respectful and handles the character material well.
-And some of the lines hold sharp jabs and cultural phrasing that is razor sharp like a rapier that stabs at just the right amount to make the point.
-And the way the magic system works is a nice combination that holds both comedic and intriguing properties to explore in the world.
The Rom Com Is Genuine -This film also has a romance aspect in it, and like Anyone But You, there is a sincerity that is makes this relationship stand out more than the usual.
-There are familiar tropes and elements that have become a staple in this film, flirting, corny dialogue and the inevitable poetic jealousy.
-Yet, ASMN manages to clean up the corniness and turn the relationship into something real, with awkward attempts at dialogue and a friendship building.
-It takes the problems of the characters and incorporates them as a part (not the only thing) of their characters, giving me more interesting and relatable stories to follow and root for.
-And it's still charmingly fun and engaging, nicely incorporated into the plot overall and not just forced in for getting more fans.
Some Decent Character Development -And those points mentioned above about the story gave me characters with a lot more depth than I had expected in a satire given my experience.
-Aren's story has some surprising emotion to it and as the story progresses turned more and more relatable to follow and invest, at least on some levels.
-His mentor Roger holds some shocking levels with decent time commitment to give a little more layering without consuming the other elements in this film.
-And Lizzie and Jason's arcs are pulled together to form a parallel tale that integrates the antics and uses them to develop the secondary (though close to primary) characters to not leave them in the dust.
-To balance this many characters into a movie as well, not an easy task. Though not perfect, the big players still get to play for much of the movie as the trailers suggested.
Good Acting -Most of the actors in the billed are first billed, so I'm going to focus on the three main ones that I believe leave an impact.
-An-Li Bogan is the type of leading lady that is engaging to watch for me. Strong, vulnerable, loving, and tough are the characteristics of the character Lizzie, which work in tandem to make a love interest worth pursuing. She's not too stand-offish, nor is she a damsel in distress and there is never that tip of the scales into something she is not.
-David Alan Grier is quite a fit for the mentor role. Tough and snarky at one point during his more imposing roles, he serves as that foreboding mystery. While the sincere side holds that exposure to something more and fosters a bond I wanted to explore more. I loved how he delivered the lines, his comedy sassy, but never insulting too much like some others do.
-It was Justice Smith who was my favorite though. The lead role is handled sensationally by this young man who keeps stretching his acting to levels that suggest he can do just about anything. From catty jokes, sincere kindness, odd love, and more, he manages to bring his A game and give me one of the better performances in this genre.
Powerful Monologue With A Tasteful Finish -The movie eventually comes to a very tense point that will divide a lot of audience.
-For me, the movie handles it pretty well, the monologue at the end preachy, but holds emotional rawness and artistic nature that is pleasant to hear for fans like me.
-And the way things wrap up is a campy poke to typical genre trends and bending them to the will of the movie. It's tasteful despite the content and a surprising finish given some of the dislikes I had for the movie.
DISLIKES:
Predictable/Trailers Ruined A Lot -Sadly, this movie is a victim to the modern time of showing too much in a movie.
-Any who have seen the promotions has about 80% of the story's direction already known with only the consequences being the unknown.
-Libii's writing though holds a lot of foreshadowing phrases that kind of push you to knowing what is coming. Only the last scene really surprised me, which given the alluring mystery this world had, was disappointing.
Some Characters Are Wasted -There isn't much to say at this aspect other than some characters turned out to be disappointing in the grand scheme of the movie.
-While some serve as cameos that are fun and cheeky, there are many that are just boring and more talking than actually contributing to the story.
-The biggest disappointment was the head of the magical society, a foreboding woman who seems to have a lot more to her story. Yet, outside of some comedic moments, this character did little to live up to anything more than a weak cameo. L -Other characters have the same problem, and the society aspect seems a tad lost to anything but a crude joke..
No Major Threat -Despite the hints of the trailer, suspense and consequences in this movie are rather lacking in my opinion.
-The magical society's consequences are hyped up in the trailer and yet still results in very limited suspense or story elements despite a grandiose intro to what happens with the rules.
-On one benefit you do get some witty jokes and dialog catered to a certain comedic style, but otherwise, this is an empty threat with little need in the grand scheme of the story.
Tries Too Hard -Another aspect that was hard for me to ignore was the movie trying too hard at times in certain elements.
-One part is the comedy. Libii at times put fantastic jokes in the film and cleverly integrated them in a natural way that worked for me.
-And other times it felt very SNL, where they try a little too hard to get that zinger in, or perhaps go a bit too far with a joke that it wasn't funny, but annoying to me.
-The same is true for a certain story element, primarily the racism track this movie plays and going a bit too far to preach a point that it becomes the new "Full House" commentary.
It Crosses Lines That Are Going To Trigger -Finally, I leave a warning that this movie may trigger or feel limited to a certain niche.
-This is to be expected if you scope the trailer out, but there were moments that the movie's assertive comedy are going to become offensive or say something harshly enough to drive people away.
-For me there are times it works, but there are times that more sensitive viewers may find it frustrating to keep watching the movie.
The VERDICT:
The American Society of Magical Negroes is an idea that excels in originality and clever plot lines that brings a lot of genres together with entertaining qualities. Crafting a more realistic and relatable tale, this romantic comedy and political drama is quite a fun film in how it handles most of its characters and the material they wanted to address. With some good acting, humorous dialogue, and surprising balance in most concepts, this movie turned out to have some magic of its own. Yet, the potential was not fully reached to me, and some of the elements promised in the advertisements sort of lost that magical touch the further into the film I went. Between trying too hard to be funny, consequences feeling lacking, and predictable arc thanks to said trailers, the movie just doesn't have the finesse or full finish for me to say the best film of the year so far. A final warning that this movie may be a bit niche despite the important elements I liked, this film is going to be a toss of a coin if you go to the theater to see it. I'd say better viewing at home if I had to choose. My scores for this film are:
Comedy/Fantasy: 5.5-6.0 Movie Overall: 5.5.