‘American Fiction’ First Look: Jeffrey Wright Takes On Black Stereotypes In New Comedy Headed To TIFF

You simply can’t go wrong with Jeffrey Wright as your lead. He’s so good, he even makes Wes Anderson movies watchable. Hey, save your pitchforks, it’s just my opinion. But f’real, Wright is one of the best actors around and can seemingly do anything well, which makes the TIFF debut of writer/director Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction one to look out for.

Ahead of the film’s world premiere in Toronto, first-look images of American Fiction have been released. Wright leads the comedy as Monk, a frustrated novelist fed up with an industry that cashes in on “Black” stereotypes.

The cast also features Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, with Issa Rae and Sterling K. Brown. Wow.

Here’s the 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.

After its TIFF world premiere on September 8th, American Fiction will open in theaters this November.

Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.