With a title like this, I just expected more.
A magical negro is a term used to define a Black supporting character who exists to selflessly support the white lead. This character is usually a highly agreeable, subservient and not at all intimidating Black friend, or an old wise Black man or a Black maid or a Black football player who Sandra Bullock takes care of. The American Society of Magical Negroes presents itself as a satire where this concept is the main focus, which sounds like the set up to a brilliant film.
Immediately framed as Black Harry Potter (down to the whimsical music), with the idea that there’s a secret society of magical Black people who are assigned to make white people feel good about themselves. We are introduced to Aren (Justice Smith) an apologetic, people pleasing young Black man standing in a room full of white people. At one point Aren describes himself by stating, “I’m very nice. It’s like a flaw.” Within the first five minutes of the movie, he is recruited into said American Society of Magical Negros by Roger (David Alan Grier) who touts himself as “basically a wizard”. Early on, Roger informs Aren that there is nothing more dangerous than an uncomfortable white person, since their discomfort always leads to violence. The idea being that the American Society’s entire mission statement surrounds the idea of self-preservation by way of making things more comfortable for white people and in turn saving the world. Alen joins, but is highly skeptical of their tactics, as he believes to be a magical negro means losing one’s self-worth. This becomes more apparent when Alen is paired with a white client who he must help keep happy by essentially kissing his ass. There is also a love story here that sees Aren falling for the love interest of his client, but it really only works to distract from the film’s satirical premise.
The more I write about this movie the more frustrated I am with its wasted potential. Much of my viewing experience was spent questioning why things were falling so flat. The concept is undeniably intriguing and worthy of a feature length film. The acting is very much a high point. Smith does a great job of presenting the protagonist as not simply a sad sack, but an actual Black person traumatized by growing up in white society, which I found very relatable. There are also funny moments. The countless movie references are spot on. Grier is a comedic genius and delivers multiple times. When Nicole Byer (who plays the Headmistress) honors Crispus Attucks by saying “He took one for the team”, I legitimately laughed out loud. It should all work, but it just doesn’t. And for that, I blame writer/director Kobi Libii. The choices he makes throughout this project left me no choice. His choice to place the love story above the movie’s satirical framework. A script with a scattershot of comedic moments, opting not to use these jokes as a launching point to develop a film that holds more weight. Again, there are some really good one-liners in this. There are also entire sequences which are on the verge of profound. Conversations which broach white privilege, corporate co-opting of Black culture and the false idea of meritocracy. It all just needed to be expanded upon and incorporated into this story a lot better.
There is a speech nearing the end made by Aren which makes a powerful statement about what it’s like to be Black in America. The problem is that it’s not enough when we are coming off of recent Black satire the caliber of American Fiction. It only makes it more obvious how poorly executed The American Society of Magical Negroes is.
Final Thought: I know this film has been getting a ton of hate from conservatives online who haven’t watched the movie, but are quite triggered from the statements the trailer makes. And that’s yet another reason why I wish this was a better movie. I truly believe in better hands The American Society of Magical Negros is talked about with such reverence as something like Hollywood Shuffle. While the movie is nowhere near as bad as you may hear,it is a frustrating watch all the same. A good satire should make you uncomfortable. This is a very tame film, less concerned with putting a mirror up to society, than with pleasing as wide of an audience as possible. The film itself proclaims being Black but palatable is a bad thing, but then proceeds to create a Black satire with most of the edges cut off. What I got was Disney+, when what I needed was Paul Mooney.
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