In American Fiction, a black professor struggles trying to get his latest, very literary book published. Annoyed after seeing an author have tremendous success with a book in the poor-suffering-black-folk genre, he writes as a joke a pulpy novel about black criminals that is quickly embraced by way too many people.

The movie is sharply, bitterly funny from the first scene, in which a white student lectures him on racism. But while this movie is often hilarious, it is not one of these satires that uses its characters as props to make a point. The author, wonderfully played by Jeffrey Wright, is a prickly character dealing with family trauma, and it manages to delve into his traumas and flaws while never losing the humor.

The story keeps moving and never falls into the obvious choices, which is what makes the ending(s) so utterly brilliant.

This movie is funny, it is caustic, but it is also genuinely touching and heartfelt. I've seen about two thirds of the 2024 best picture oscar nominees and for me it's obvious that this should win (and won't).

One aside. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the user reviews to discover that they weren't filled with complaints about the portrayal of white people. This movie genuinely portrays white people as, at best, clueless idiots, and I was certain reviewers would be whining about that the way they have whined about the much less caustic portrayal of white folks in other movies. Perhaps this movie simply portrays white people so convincingly that we all have to say, well, yeah, that's fair.

Anyway, watch this movie, it's amazing.