Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, Myra Lucretia Taylor
OUR RATING: ★★★★☆
Story:
Satirical comedy drama written and directed by Cord Jefferson. American Fiction (2023) follows Monk (Jeffrey Wright), a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment that profits from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, he uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
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Best Quotes
Brittany: [referring to the N-word] Well, I just find that word really offensive.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: With all due respect, Brittany, I got over it, I’m pretty sure you can too.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: You know, if you spent less time spying on me, you could probably write a dozen more novels that people buy at airports with their neck pillows and Cheez-Its.
Arthur: How does it feel to be home?
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Great. Already had a guy in a Bruins jersey ask me if I think I’m better than him.
Arthur: That’s good luck here. That’s Boston’s version of a ladybug landing on you.
Arthur: They want a Black book.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: They have a Black book. I’m Black, and it’s my book.
Arthur: You know what I mean.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: I don’t even really believe in race.
Arthur: Yeah. The problem is that everyone else does.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Well, what you do is important. Meanwhile, all I do is invent little people in my head, then make them have imaginary conversations with each other.
Lisa Ellison: Books change people’s lives.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Did something I’ve written ever change your life?
Lisa Ellison: Absolutely. Absolutely. My dining room table was wobbly as hell before your last book came out. It was like perfect.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Oh, I look fat.
Lorraine: Oh, that’s the California talking. I took you to Arkansas right now, you’d be a beauty queen.
Agnes Ellison: [to Monk] So you’re not depressed. You just wear all the hallmarks of depression.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: [referring to their mother, Agnes] I mean, is it really such a big deal? Everyone forgets things. Doesn’t mean she’s sick necessarily.
Lisa Ellison: People forget dentists appointments. She forgets I’m not married anymore. That’s weird.
Lisa Ellison: [referring to their father] Do you know that I saw him kiss a white woman in the park in high school?
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: How white?
Lisa Ellison: What do you mean, “How white?”
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Like Brahmin white, or Southie white.
Lisa Ellison: I don’t know. She had thin lips. She looked like a bad kisser.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: [referring to his books] These books have nothing to do with African-American studies. They’re just literature. The Blackest thing about this one is the ink.
Lisa Ellison: The only emotions I remember from Dad were boredom and rage.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Is boredom an emotion?
Lisa Ellison: Great. It’s Detective Dictionary.
'People are more than their worst deed.' - Coraline (American Fiction) Share on X
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: [at Lisa’s funeral reading her own eulogy] “If you are reading this it’s because I, Lisa Magical Ellison, have died. Obviously, this is not ideal, but I guess it had to happen at some point. Hopefully, I expired under the heaving thrusts of a sweaty Idris Elba, or perhaps in a less dignified manner, under the heaving thrusts of a sweaty Russell Crowe.”
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: [reading Lisa’s eulogy] “I lived a life that made me proud. I was loved, and I loved in return. I found work that aroused my passions. I believe I gave more than I took. And I did my damnedest to help people in need. And on top of all that, many a friend wrongly accused me of having Botox because of how tight my skin stayed well into my fifties. What more could someone ask of a life? I love you all. Thank you for being here today. Goodbye. Lisa.”
Phillip: [as Monk is scattering Lisa’s ashes into the sea] Are those human remains? Do you guys have a permit for that?
Clifford Ellison: Just shut the f*** up, Philip.
Phillip: Cliff, you don’t talk to me like that.
Clifford Ellison: F*** you. I just did.
Clifford Ellison: [to Phillip] You want me to beat your a**? Get the f*** out of here. I will eat your sweater vest for dinner.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Does seeing a dead body ever become normal?
Clifford Ellison: I don’t know. I haven’t seen many.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Really?
Clifford Ellison: I’m a plastic surgeon. If I’m looking at a corpse, then something went very awry.
Clifford Ellison: You want to know how my family is? My wife left me because she caught me in bed with a man. She took my house, half my practice. My kids f***ing hate me. And I still live in f***ing Tucson.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: What was wrong with Tucson?
Clifford Ellison: Oh, my God. There’s one gay bar, and it’s full of college kids. One of them asked me if I was Tyler Perry.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: That’s terrible. I mean, Tyler Perry lives in Atlanta, right?
Clifford Ellison: F*** you, man.
'Enemies see each other better than friends.' - Clifford Ellison (American Fiction) Share on X
Coraline: Writers have to be non-judgmental. You can’t write interesting characters and be critical of every bad decision they make.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: You said you wanted Black stuff. What’s Blacker than that? It’s got deadbeat dads, rappers, crack, and he gets killed by a cop in the end. I mean, that’s Black, right?
Arthur: I see what you’re doing.
Arthur: Monk, I’m trying to sell books, not be a part of some crusade. Who do you expect to publish this?
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: No one. I just want to rub their noses in the horses**t they solicit.
Arthur: White people think they want the truth, but they don’t. They just want to feel absolved.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Well, fortunately, that’s not my problem.
Coraline: I’m never just being nice. I’m too old for that.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: These care facilities are expensive. The best one nearby is fifty six hundred a month, and that’s for a shared room. It goes up to six-nine hundred a month for a private room.
Clifford Ellison: Well, why you looking at the best one? She wasn’t the best mother.
Clifford Ellison: I’ve taken a lover.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: You’ve taken a lover?
Clifford Ellison: You got a problem with that, homophobe?
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Listen, I’m not offended that you’ve taken a lover, Cliff. I’m offended, Cliff, that you call it taking a lover.
'Never underestimate how stupid everyone is.' - Arthur (American Fiction) Share on X
Arthur: You wrote it.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: As a joke.
Arthur: Well, now it’s the most lucrative joke you’ve ever told.
Arthur: I broke the first rule of sales. Never underestimate how stupid everyone is.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Well, I’m not participating in making them any stupider.
Arthur: Well, you haven’t thus far, which is admirable. But you also haven’t made any money.
Arthur: [to Monk] The Red is s**t, the Black is less s**t, the Blue is good. But fewer people buy the blue because it’s expensive. And at the end of the day, most people just want to get drunk. For most of your career, your books have been Blue. They’re good, complex. But they’re not popular because most people want something easy. Now, for the first time ever, you’ve written a Red book. It’s simple, prurient. It’s not great literature, but satisfies an urge. And that’s valuable. What I’m trying to illustrate is that, just because you do Red doesn’t mean you can’t also do Blue. You can do it all.
Paula Baderman: We believe Mr. Leigh has written a bestseller. We think it is going to be the read of the summer.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Yeah, I’m sure white people on the Hamptons will delight in it.
Paula Baderman: Yes, we will. They… We… It’s going to be huge. Huge. I love it.
Agnes Ellison: I’m happy you’re not white.
Coraline: Me too.
Arthur: What is this? I told you to dress street.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: I did.
Arthur: F***ing Sesame Street.
Arthur: Wiley Valdespino. He specializes in Oscar-baity “issue” movies. He did the Middle Passage one last year.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Somehow I didn’t see that.
Arthur: Of course, not. You’re not lobotomized.
'It's always easier dealing with other people's families than your own.' - Maynard (American Fiction) Share on X
Arthur: Nobody in Hollywood reads. They got their assistants to read things, and then summarize them. The whole town runs on book reports.
Wiley Valdespino: Can I ask what you were in for?
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: I don’t like to talk about that. You feel me?
Wiley Valdespino: Was it murder?
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: You said that, not me.
Arthur: [referring to Wiley] He’s offering four million dollars for the rights.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: What?
Arthur: Yeah, man. He called you the real deal. Said you took off the moment you heard police sirens.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: The dumber I behave, the richer I get.
Ailene Hoover: People have worked hard on these books. And we have to respect that.
Wilson Harnet: Well, hard work doesn’t demand respect. I mean, you know, people worked hard on the Third Reich.
Paula Baderman: You know, this book, it’s awards-bait with a capital B.
John Bosco: And we’re thinking that if Michael does sign on, we want to put him on the cover in one of those scarves, I guess you would call them, tied round his head.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: A durag?
John Bosco: Durag. That’s it. Durag and a tank top with the muscles showing.
Paula Baderman: Ooh. Somebody call the fire department!
'Potential is what people see when they think what's in front of them isn't good enough.' - Sintara Golden (American Fiction) Share on X
Paula Baderman: [referring to changing the book name to “F***”] Yeah. We discussed it, and we think it is very in your face in the best way possible.
John Bosco: It’s very…
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Black?
John Bosco: That’s it. Yes. That’s it! I’m happy you said it, and not me.
Clifford Ellison: [referring to Coraline] At least she’s not white again.
Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison: Your wife was white.
Clifford Ellison: My wife was a beard. Beards don’t count.
Clifford Ellison: I only been gay for like five minutes, I got to make up for lost time.
Coraline: Yeah. Well, good for you. I mean, the whole world’s falling apart. Might as well have some fun.