American Fiction: Stephen King recommends terrific, warmhearted film

The comedy drama American Fiction won the People’s Choice Award when it was screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray gave the film an 8/10 review (you can read it HERE), calling it “one of the year’s most sophisticated satires, albeit one with a big heart and an empathetic core.” Now American Fiction has received a recommendation from one of the most popular authors of all time, Stephen King.

King took to his X account to say, “American Fiction is just terrific. So warmhearted and giving that you hardly notice the sharp teeth of its satire. Leslie Uggams stole my heart. Any movie that starts with the title of a Flannery O’Connor story that can no longer be uttered has me in its corner right away.“

Written and directed by Cord Jefferson, American Fiction is based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett and has the following official synopsis: Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut 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.

As mentioned in the synopsis, the film stars Jeffrey Wright, and he is joined in the cast by Erika Alexander, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Adam Brody, Keith David, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, and King’s favorite, Leslie Uggams.

Wikipedia points out that American Fiction “was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the American Film Institute and has received numerous accolades, including two nominations at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and five nominations at the 29th Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Picture.” The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States earlier this month.

Does a Stephen King recommendation make you more likely to check out American Fiction? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and if you’ve already seen the movie, tell us what you thought of it!

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