The American Society of Magical Negroes main backdrop
The American Society of Magical Negroes main poster

The American Society of Magical Negroes

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4.8/10 • 98

2024-03-151h 45m

FantasyComedy

Saving the damn world.

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.

Directors
Kobi Libii
Writters
Kobi Libii
Editors
Kobi Libii, Brian Scott Olds

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Justice Smith

    Justice Smith

    Aren

  2. David Alan Grier

    David Alan Grier

    Roger

  3. An-Li Bogan

    An-Li Bogan

    Lizzie

  4. Drew Tarver

    Drew Tarver

    Jason Munt

  5. Michaela Watkins

    Michaela Watkins

    Masterson

  6. Aisha Hinds

    Aisha Hinds

    Gabbard

  7. Tim Baltz

    Tim Baltz

    Officer Miller

  8. Rupert Friend

    Rupert Friend

    Mick

  9. Nicole Byer

    Nicole Byer

    DeDe

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

May 1, 2024

5/10

I think that for satire to work, you have to be able to ensure that the audience is on board with the underlying premiss it's trying to achieve. Despite a decent effort from Justice Smith's "Aren" (and his impressive collection of knitwear) I just wasn't. Relying on long forgotten (if, indeed, they were ever actually known in the first place) tropes about racial stereotyping - and not just those from an African American point of view, makes this actually quite an offensive film to watch. Perhaps I am overthinking it, but I found absolutely nothing here with which I could relate - sarcastically or otherwise. The comedy, such as it is, is entirely contrived and the romantic elements between "Aren", "Lizzie" (An-Li Bogan) and "Jason" (Drew Tarver) are badly written and frequently cringe-makingly acted out. Peppering the thing with a few "Harry Potter" style magical effects and adding the benign characterisation of "Barber" (Aaron Colman) so that this "Society" can spend their entire time trying to "fix" the problems of their hapless and hopelessly out of their emotional depth white contemporaries just falls flat. It simply isn't funny. If a load of white folk got together and decided to make a movie about a group of innately obsequious and subservient non-white people, it would (and should) be banned. This is a clumsy and unfunny reinforcement of flawed values seen from an wholly unrealistic perspective and I struggled to sit through it, then wondered just why I bothered. Maybe it will resonate if you are American? I hope not.

Media

  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster
  • The American Society of Magical Negroes poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
$2,480,645.00
Keywords
satireracial stereotypeplayfulpatheticinspirationalcriticaldignified