The American Society of Magical Negroes–Race in America with a Philip K. Dick twist

Review by Elizabeth C. Bunce

The American Society of Magical Negroes, the new “romantasy” from debut writer/director Kobi Libii, is The Adjustment Bureau meets Men in Black meets The Kingsman, with a satirical sting.  First up, a little definition: the “magical Negro” is a storytelling trope (possibly coined by BlacKkKlansmen and Do the Right Thing director Spike Lee) where a preternaturally wise Black character exists only to counsel and support the (typically male) white main character.  Libii takes this idea one step further for the film, turning it into a literal organization of Black wizards devoted to preserving and promoting “white comfort.”  Sound questionable?  It does to main character Aren (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Justice Smith), too—until mentor Magical Negro Roger (David Alan Grier, They Cloned Tyrone, In Living Color) sells him on the critical, visceral necessity of protecting Black lives by keeping white people happy.

Aren is a young artist struggling in more than one way.  No one understands his avantgarde yarn sculptures; he keeps being mistaken for the waitstaff at his art show; and he’s so unassuming that he accepts it.  Yearning to make a difference, somehow, he accepts Roger’s invitation and begins training with the ASOMN.  Less Hogwarts than the tailor shop from The Kingsman, the ASOMN headquarters is stylishly built, a posh private club with Harlem Renaissance vibes.  Training consists of montages lifted straight from film history: scenes of Magical Negroes at work from The Green Mile to The Legend of Baggar Vance.  The work looks simple enough: all Aren has to do is use the collective magic of his fellow wizards to gently nudge his white client toward success.

But it turns out it’s not that easy.  Is his client, aspiring tech-bro Trevor (Drew Tarver) really worthy of this support?  Isn’t Trevor’s fated love interest, Lizzie (An-Li Bogan) a better match for Aren?  Everything comes to a head when Aren’s support results in Trevor getting credit for the team’s big project—training facial recognition software to better recognize people of color—at Lizzie’s expense.  Aren decides that—just maybe—making white people feel better shouldn’t be his job.

For a satire, The American Society of Magical Negroes is perhaps too on point to be laugh-out-loud funny, but it works as a lighthearted romance—a romcom without so much “com.”  The light touch of magic lands this squarely in 2024’s hottest microgenre: romantasy.

The cast hits every note perfectly.  Justice Smith continues to show his terrific range, this time in a performance reminiscent of Jay Baruchel in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, balancing his desire to please everyone around him with a growing disquiet about his new calling.  Grier brings the requisite gravitas.  And we can’t wait to see more of Thai-Irish actor An-Li Bogan, who turns in a subtly subversive performance of her own.  Aren and Lizzie really are the perfect couple—in more ways than one.  Yet with its happily-ever-after romance, Libii nails the landing and drives the satire skewer ever deeper: it has to go that way, in order to sit right with mainstream audiences.

The American Society of Magical Negroes is now streaming on Peacock.