The 559th film I have seen in theaters…

Jeffrey Wright excels in this Fantastic move

Monk is a writer working as a professor in LA. His books are low sellers. His agent complains that his books are not “black enough” for publishers. Drunk and angry at not only this, but at a series of family tragedies, He writes a satirically “black” novel full of every trope he can think of. He is shocked when the white liberal publishers think it is a real novel and offer him truck loads of money. Monk must reconcile what he’s done, and navigate his family drama, as he pretends to be “Stagg”, the fictitious author.

Fantastic, hilarious and complicated. Wright is right (lol) up there with Giamatti and Murphy in the best actor race. I can’t comment on Domingo and Cooper having not seen their films as of this writing. I like that Monk isn’t entirely sympathetic, redeemed, or resolved by movie’s end. Sterling K. Brown is probably not going to win Best Supporting, but that nomination is well deserved as well.

The film was also nominated for adapted screenplay and original score. Adapted screenplay is packed this year with some serious contenders, but I did love the score. Light, jazzy, it was a nice touch with a main character named after Thelonious Monk.

This is a great movie, smart and well made. I hope it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle this year, but it is absolutely deserving of that Best Picture nomination.

8/10