When a literary agent tells his brilliant but unexciting author to write about “black stuff”, he writes a hit novel called “My Pafology”, full of “dead beat dads, rappers and crack”.
That’s the premise of American Fiction, the new MGM/Orion Pictures comedy from writer-director-producer Cord Jefferson, which recently won the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award.
Based on the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett, the film stars Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a frustrated novelist fed up with the establishment profiting from “black” entertainment based on tired narratives and themes.
After writing an offbeat book that pokes fun at the offensive tropes, his success puts him at the centre of hypocrisy. The film also stars Sterling K. Brown as Monk’s recently out gay brother, Issa Rae as a successful and respected black author whom Monk resents, and Erika Alexander as his neighbour and love interest. The ensemble cast also includes John Ortiz, Adam Brody and Leslie Uggams.
In his review, Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote that “American Fiction” is about the unfairness of asking individual artists to represent the entire black experience. As such, it’s better read as a window into Monk’s white reality.
Under the production banners of MRC, T-Street Production, An Almost Infinite and 3 Arts, American Fiction is also produced by Jefferson, Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios and Jermaine Johnson. Oscar nominee Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Percival Everett and Michael Bowes serve as executive producers.
“American Fiction” opens in select theatres on December 15 before expanding on December 22.
