I will continue to update this post as reviews come in.
[**Rotten Tomatoes:**](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_american_society_of_magical_negroes) Rotten
**Critics Consensus:** *The American Society of Magical Negroes* has a promising premise, but is too timid to fully engage with its most provocative ideas.
||**Score**|**Number of Reviews**|**Average Rating**|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|**All Critics**|30%|47|4.90/10|
|**Top Critics**|20%|15|4.70/10|
[**Metacritic:**](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-american-society-of-magical-negroes/) 54 (17 Reviews)
**Sample Reviews:**
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” is a deftly observant fantasy comedy that stays true to its own irreverence. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Though it’s clear that first-time director Libii was intending for the joke to be on white people, the Black characters are drawn with so much misery and self-loathing that the humor rarely lands. – Jourdain Searles, Hollywood Reporter
Unlike “American Fiction,” “Magical Negroes” lacks broad appeal. That doesn’t make it a film without merit, but it makes it harder to sell to a more mainstream Black audience. – Ronda Racha Penrice, TheWrap
“Society” too often panders to the very impulses it’s trying to lampoon. **2/4** – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
Smith’s nimble performance is such a pleasure to watch that it almost doesn’t matter, but it’s fair to say that this film could have gone even further with its bold scenario. – Nicolas Rapold, New York Times
Kobi Libii only dips his toe in the water of the film’s thesis, and seems unwilling to dissect or interrogate it in any meaningful fashion. **D** – Adam Graham, Detroit News
Libii, who’s also the screenwriter here, needs some storytelling magic. **1.5/4** – Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
This was always going to be a difficult flight of fancy to land, and Libii can’t – the final act devolves into an earnest manifesto that feels ripped from an Instagram live. **3/5** – Adrian Horton, Guardian
So many disparate ideas and tones are being mashed up here, and none of them gel. – Aisha Harris, NPR
American Society can’t decide whether to go full biting satire or charming rom-com, and as a result, it fails to do either genre justice. **C** – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly
A socially conscious romantic comedy, and if those two modes don’t sound compatible, [writer/director] Libii does nothing to alter that impression. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” feels inexplicably watered-down(…), further saddled by an unnecessary late twist and a preachy tone that manages to say only the most obvious. **C+** – Tomris Laffly, indieWire
The satire is Key & Peele by way of Harry Potter, but those disparate themes never completely gel. – Lyvie Scott, Inverse
Beneath the layers of magical realism and dot-com satire, American Society feels personal and raw. **A-** – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
You’re never totally sure if “The American Society of Magical Negroes” wants to critique the anti-Black world it exists in or is simply content smiling in the face of the status quo. **1/4** – Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
**SYNOPSIS:**
*The American Society of Magical Negroes* is a fresh, satirical comedy about a young man, Aren, who 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.
**CAST:**
* Justice Smith as Aren
* David Alan Grier as Roger
* An-Li Bogan as Lizzie
* Drew Tarver as Jason
* Michaela Watkins as Masterson
* Rupert Friend as Mick
* Nicole Byer as Dede
**DIRECTED BY:** Kobi Libii
**WRITTEN BY:** Kobi Libii
**PRODUCED BY:** Julia Lebedev, Eddie Vaisman, Angel Lopez, Kobi Libii
**EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:** Mike Upton, Oren Moverman, Leonid Lebedev
**DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY:** Doug Emmett
**PRODUCTION DESIGNER:** Laura Fox
**EDITED BY:** Brian Olds
**COSTUME DESIGNER:** Derica Cole Washington
**MUSIC BY:** Michael Abels
**CASTING BY:** Jeannie McCarthy, Nicole Abellera Hallman
**RUNTIME:** 105 Minutes
**RELEASE DATE:** March 15, 2024
Source: self.boxoffice
https://www.reddit.com/r/boxoffice/comments/1bd9qud/the_american_society_of_magical_negroes_review/
