American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

93% Tomatometer 289 Reviews 96% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Verified Ratings

AMERICAN FICTION is Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk 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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American Fiction

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Critics Consensus

Jeffrey Wright and American Fiction will forever be inextricable thanks to the actor's committed approach to the pointedly humorous and insightful material.

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Audience Says

Smart, funny, and poignant, American Fiction will make you laugh as often as it makes you think.

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Critics Reviews

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American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Wenlei Ma The Nightly (AU) Anchored by a tour de force performance from Jeffrey Wright, writer and first-time director Cord Jefferson’s film is a confident work that delights in exploring thorny concepts through humour and clear-minded irreverence. Rated: 5/5 Feb 27, 2024 Full Review American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Tara Brady Irish Times Cord Jefferson, who previously made episodes of Watchmen and The Good Life, marries a light touch and broad humour with affecting familial dysfunction and biting observations on race. Cultural crises are seldom so entertaining. Rated: 4/5 Feb 24, 2024 Full Review American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Stephen Romei The Australian This satire shouldn't be laugh-out-loud funny ... but it is. Rated: 4/5 Feb 24, 2024 Full Review American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Stacey Yvonne Wealth of Geeks In Cord Jefferson's American Fiction, Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is tired. He's a writer of dense books, intelligent and full of meaning and metaphor, but they don't fly off the shelf. Rated: 10/10 Jul 8, 2024 Full Review American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid 'American Fiction' works by keeping the satire sharp, but giving it a genuine humanity. Rated: 3.5/4 Jul 3, 2024 Full Review American Fiction | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Ray Pride Newcity Satirical hall of mirrors, reflecting and refracting with its every canny move... all held aloft by the deliciously precise leading performance by the great Jeffrey Wright. Rated: 8/10 Jul 2, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Barbara C one viewing is enough. no real message that would inspire for change Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/23/24 Full Review TLC Deserves all the praise its received! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/17/24 Full Review Kimberly J I appreciate the storyline. Well Done great acting Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/04/24 Full Review Shoshanna Berger Nice story. Well told and well acted. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/24/24 Full Review Michael J Interesting look at stereotypes Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/17/24 Full Review Dave Well thought out, well written, Oscar worthy acting. Full of sharp, biting humor. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/14/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Cord Jefferson Director Jeffrey Wright Thelonious "Monk" Ellison Tracee Ellis Ross Lisa John Ortiz Arthur Erika Alexander Coraline Leslie Uggams Agnes
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American Fiction

American Fiction: Movie Clip - Bookstore American Fiction: Movie Clip - Bookstore 1:06 View more videos

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American Fiction

The ‘American Fiction’ Cast Breaks Down the Making of the Movie The ‘American Fiction’ Cast Breaks Down the Making of the Movie 26:24 American Fiction: Exclusive Featurette - American Artist American Fiction: Exclusive Featurette - American Artist 2:09 Sterling K. Brown Breaks Down His Career and Talks ‘American Fiction’ Sterling K. Brown Breaks Down His Career and Talks ‘American Fiction’ 23:22 American Fiction: Trailer 2 American Fiction: Trailer 2 2:15 American Fiction: Featurette - Page to Screen American Fiction: Featurette - Page to Screen 1:49 American Fiction: Featurette - First Look American Fiction: Featurette - First Look 1:39 American Fiction: Featurette - Jeffrey Wright Is “Monk" American Fiction: Featurette - Jeffrey Wright Is “Monk" 1:30 American Fiction: Trailer 1 American Fiction: Trailer 1 2:33 View more videos

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Synopsis AMERICAN FICTION is Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk 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.

Director
Cord Jefferson

Producer
Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson

Screenwriter
Cord Jefferson

Distributor
MGM

Production Co
Orion Pictures, T-Street, MRC, 3Arts

Rating
R (Sexual References|Language Throughout|Brief Violence|Some Drug Use)

Genre
Comedy, Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 12, 2024, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 6, 2024

Box Office (Gross USA)
$21.0M

Runtime
1h 57m

Sound Mix
Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio
Digital 2.39:1
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