It’s a satirical tale we’ve seen before, perhaps in an oldSpike Lee joint, for example. Hollywood loves movies about movies, and here comes yet another — but with a twist. Indeed,American Fictionis unique thanks to a few little twists and shakeups in terms of storyline, satire, and an overall statement about the hilariously troubling times we live in — when it comes to showbiz, of course. Other issues in today’s world are no laughing matter, but Cord Jefferson (who has worked onSuccession,Station Eleven,andWatchmen) offers a lovely escape from all that with a delicious new feature full of eye rolls, laugh-out-loud moments, and more.
Below, we looked at whyAmerican Fictionwill go down in history thanks to its messaging about Hollywood, the publishing world and more. Academy, do we have your attention?
How American Fiction Came to Life
Filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick created their masterpieces from source material in another medium — that is, books.American Fictionis also based on a novel,Erasureby Percival Everett, which hit the shelves back in 2001. Well received upon its release, the story centers on an English literature professor named Monk, who is in a rut with his own writing because, as publishers tell him over and over again, his work isn’t “Black enough.” Meanwhile, a book from a competing author, calledWe’s Lives In Da Ghetto, is a hit, thereby infuriating Monk and leading him to write his own “Black” book as a joke. But, of course, this new book he callsMy Pafology— and later a four-letter word that starts with “F” — also becomes a smashing success, putting Monk in quite the satirical pickle.
These are all beats that Jefferson hits with his film adaptation,American Fiction, which started making headlines last year when A-listers like Wrightand Tracey Ellis Ross(also a knockout here) became attached to the project. Here we are a year later, withAmerican Fictionmaking the rounds at film festivals as of late.
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How American Fiction Perfectly Skewers Hollywood
This brings us to our next point: Jefferson’s new film is a delicious diss to Hollywood, a sort of feature film-length middle-finger to the studios — and the publishing world, of course. Even beforeAdam Brody showsup inAmerican Fictionas the typical naive Hollywood producer who thinks he’s got the world by its bootstraps, the film satirizes Tinseltown in a variety of ways. One could argue the publishing world is an extension of Hollywood (or vice versa), so when we see publishers on conference calls with Wright’s Monk and his manager pal Arthur (a never-better John Ortiz), repeating again and again just how much they appreciate Wright’s joke novelMy Pafology, we can’t help but envision the same sort of conversations if these were film studio heads instead.
Going back to Brody’s character, named Wiley, it’s hilarious when Monk — struggling to stay in character as the imaginary ex-con who wroteMy Pafology— meets Wiley for the first time, and Wiley tries to draw a connection in that they’ve both served time. The kicker? Wiley’s prison charge was “commerce” related, and we sense that it was some sort of insider-trading gone wrong, which is just laugh-out-loud funny stuff right there.
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Why American Fiction Should Be a Best Picture Contender
Birdmanwinning Best Picture overBoyhoodback in 2015 is telling that Hollywood remains zeroed-in on movies about the biz. Not thatBirdmandidn’t deserve it — a masterpiece in more ways than one — but it’s worthy of note that a variety ofmovies about making moviesand Los Angeles at large (Singin' in the Rain, Argo, Chicago, Crash) have taken home the top prize at the Academy Awards, and we wouldn’t be surprised ifAmerican Fictionisn’t at least a top contender.
The race for Oscar gold is ever tighter again this year, with fellow acclaimed features likeKillers of the Flower MoonandOppenheimeralso in the running, butAmerican Fictionis more effective at making pertinent statements about entertainment that we can’t but find ourselves gravitating toward. Don’t miss it!
American Fictionreleases in select theaters July 30, 2025.
