A dark comedy about the commodification of blackness in America that also features a compelling family drama that borders on tragedy. It’s not subtle in its satire but it does avoid getting too overt with its delicately balanced humor; it’s very funny and many of those laughs will make you think once you regain your composure.

Juxtaposing the race-focused A plot with a family drama B plot gives the film a surprising amount of heart to counter the absurdity of Monk’s snowballing circumstances. The ensemble cast makes the movie shine and Jeffrey Wright delivers a strong performance that binds the whole thing together.

There’s some ambiguity to its ending that I’m not sure whether I liked but that doesn’t take away from the message it sent and the movie’s undeniable overall quality.