In her American Fiction review and her The Holdovers review, critic Lisa Johnson Mandell reveals two more of her favorite films of 2023 and recommends that you start of the New Year on a high note by seeing them both, if you haven’t already.

American Fiction Review

When I read author Percival Everett’s brilliant Erasure: A Novel, in 2011, it immediately became one of my favorite books of the year. When I saw that it was being adapted into a film entitled American Fiction that starred Jeffrey Wright, I hoped it would become one of my favorite movies of the year. Lo and behold, it did!

And knock me over with a feather, while I loved the enigmatic ending of the book, I loved the ending of first-time director Cord Jefferson’s film even more! That almost never happens—and I read as many books that inspire adaptations as possible.

Both works are a a dry and hilarious take on the American literary culture’s propensity to reduce races and other groups to ridiculous stereotypes, awkwardly mislabeling outrageousness as authenticity. Wright exquisitely plays Theloneous “Monk” Ellison (if you have to ask how he got his nickname, you might not enjoy the humor in the film), an erudite author whose books are not selling.

His agent informs him that his work is not “Black enough,” and says that if he wants to be relevant (and financially solvent), he’ll have to come up with something like the current bestseller, We’s Lives in da Ghetto.

Out of sheer frustration over the fact that only negative, stereotypical inner-city Black books are generating sales and fame, (and also out of a need to meet some unexpected and tragic family financial obligations), Monk pens what he believes to be an insufferably bad satire.

To his astonishment, his work is met with blathering acclaim, and he must start appearing as his pseudonym, the felonious fugitive, Stagg R. Leigh.

What Jefferson, Wright, and an astoundingly adroit supporting cast that includes Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K. Brown, Issa Rae, Leslie Uggams, Erika Alexander and many others, accomplish is one of the most wry, biting and extraordinary movies of the year.

It was a daring book and it’s a daring movie, poking fun at so many things many people believe to be sacred. Trust me, you’ll enjoy the sacrilege.

Rated R

1 Hour, 57 Minutes

The Holdovers Review

The Holdovers will doubtless become an instant Christmas classic, but don’t let that stop you from seeing it any time of the year. The great performances, poignant storyline, acerbic jokes and cunning production value are timeless.

Here we find one of cinema’s favorite pairings, director Alexander Payne, and actor Paul Giamatti, whom we’re still quoting from the admirable and endearing Sideways, “I will not drink Merlot!” That was almost 20 years ago, and while they’ve both been involved in outstanding projects since then, their work on Sideways still makes cinephiles smile fondly.

Now they’re together again in a film with even bigger heart. The Holdovers is created from a tenderly original screenplay by David Hemingson, known for writing the movie Uncle Buck and TV series including black-ish, How I Met Your Mother and Just Shoot Me, among many others.

The Holdovers takes us back to the 1970’s, when a curmudgeonly professor draws the lot to stick around campus to care for those students who can’t go home for winter break. The school’s head cook, (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) is his aide de camp.

Eventually they end up with one brilliant but conflicted student, played by newcomer Dominic Sessa, who I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future. The three form a bond that may serve to heal their own independent wounds, of which there are many.

If the plot sounds depressing, bear in mind that the characters, performances and script keep The Holdovers lively and amusing—you’ll find yourself wanting to remember a lot of derogatory names the professor calls his students so you can use them on your nieces and nephews next Christmas (or is that just me?)

In any case, you’ll be moved to laughter and tears, and you might even stretch your intellect a bit as you watch this comfortable and at times delightfully squirmy film. That’s an excellent cinematic payoff.

Rated R

2 Hours 13 Minutes

If this American Fiction review and The Holdovers review gives you a hankering to see either film, post Thanksgiving The Holdovers will be available to rent on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube TV, and is also streaming exclusively for Peacock subscribers. American Fiction is currently in theaters, but will eventually end up on Amazon, probably sometime in early 2024.

In her American Fiction review and her The Holdovers review, critic Lisa Johnson Mandell reveals two more of her favorite films of 2023 and recommends that you start of the New Year on a high note by seeing them both, if you haven’t already.