Movie Review

Satirical The American Society of Magical Negroes suffers from mid-film pivot

Justice Smith and David Alan Grier in The American Society of Magical Negroes.

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

It was filmmaker Spike Lee who coined the term “magical negro,” a Black character who seems to exist only to help a white character. Lee's examples includeThe Green Mile and The Legend of Bagger Vance, but you can go back further to films like Driving Miss Daisy, Ghost, and Lilies in the Field.

The new film The American Society of Magical Negroes aims to send up that tired trope by envisioning a world where such a group actually exists, with the purpose of soothing the discomfort of white people to ensure a harmonious existence between the races.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Kobi Libii, the film has a satirical premise that initially seems to work well.

Aren (Justice Smith) is a poor-selling artist who is recruited into the group by Roger (David Alan Grier), who shows him just how long the group has been working to keep the peace.

Aren’s first mission is to work alongside Jason (Drew Tarver), a designer at a tech company called MeetBox, and help him rise up the corporate ladder. Things get complicated, however, when Aren meets Lizzie (An-Li Bogan), a fellow designer, and develops a crush on her. When Jason shows interest in Lizzie, Aren must not only help Jason professionally, but also personally, putting his loyalty to the society to the test.

Aren’s introduction to the society yields a number of funny scenes, including Roger bailing him out of a tense situation with three white people, as well as scenes showing the history of successful members of the society. This set-up seems to promise a series of similar scenes in which Aren will have to learn how to be a successful “magical negro” himself.

Instead, Libii quickly pivots to a story that’s more akin to a rom-com than a satire. The magic that Aren is supposed to possess becomes next to non-existent as he settles into a love triangle with Lizzie and Jason. With a divided focus, it becomes unclear how exactly Aren is supposed to help Jason other than being a type of yes-man, which seems less “magical” than sycophantic.

The film winds up as a classic case of not knowing what to do with a promising premise. Even though Libii checks back in often with Roger and the society, that part of the film doesn’t seem to be that important after the first 30 minutes. The rom-com portion works relatively well, as Aren and Lizzie have good chemistry together, but it too suffers because of the need to keep the other part going.

Smith is a rising star who has appeared in a variety of big and small films in recent years. Even though the story is up-and-down, he is an engaging presence throughout. He’s aided by Grier and Bogan, both of whom put in great supporting performances. Aisha Hinds and Nicole Byer are fun in small parts, and Tarver, Michaela Watkins, and Rupert Friend play clueless in entertaining ways.

The American Society of Magical Negroes may not have accomplished the goal of being a biting satire, but it has more highs than lows thanks to its talented cast. For a more successful look at a similar theme, check out the Oscar-nominated American Fiction.

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The American Society of Magical Negroes opens in theaters on March 15.

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Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records opens location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."