Am I Racist? is a 2024 American satirical documentary comedy film starring conservative political commentator Matt Walsh that lampoons the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement. Directed by Justin Folk for The Daily Wire, it follows Walsh as he poses as a "bumbling DEI trainee", using subterfuge to interview experts and attend anti-racism workshops. The film has been described as a mockumentary in the style of Borat. With a production budget of $3 million, the film was theatrically released in the United States on September 13, 2024. It grossed $12 million, becoming the highest-grossing documentary film of 2024.

Plot

Matt Walsh, reflecting on the past and present state of racism in society, decides to engage with anti-racism experts and activists. After being ousted from a support group focused on "white guilt", Walsh decides to take on a persona similar to that of the gender studies professor he interviewed in What Is a Woman? He goes on to receive a DEI certification, and assumes the identity of a "DEI expert". Subsequently, Walsh convinces passersby to sign a petition to rename the Washington Monument the "George Floyd Monument", raise the structure by 30%, and repaint it black. He also goes to a biker bar, hoping to expose the racism of white "hillbillies", and interviews black Americans who tell him that the solution to racism is to "love one another". The show culminates in Walsh's assumed persona hosting a workshop called the "Do the Work Workshop" where he condemns his uncle Frank for a racist joke he made twenty years ago, and encourages self-flagellation as a solution to white guilt. The show ends with Walsh dramatically having a change of heart and ending the workshop, stating publicly that the whole thing is a scam. In the final scene, Walsh imagines himself sharing his findings with the world before sitting down for coffee with his uncle Frank.

Production

Am I Racist? is the second film by Walsh, and had a budget of $3 million. Walsh is a conservative podcaster, author, and provocateur with a large following. Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of The Daily Wire, said the film was made because "DEI culture is one of the most toxic plagues in American life". Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility who appears in the film, said the filmmakers "had lied about their agenda and I had been played", specifically in a scene involving reparations. Another scene, in which Walsh went without a physical disguise while posing as an attendee of a DEI workshop, ended as the real attendees recognized Walsh.

Release

The film was released in the United States and Canada on September 13, 2024, by SDG Releasing. It is the first theatrically released film by The Daily Wire. On October 28, 2024, the film came to DailyWire+.

Reception

= Box office

= As of October 19, 2024, Am I Racist has grossed $12.3 million. It is the highest-grossing documentary film of 2024. The film made $1.96 million on its opening day, including Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $4.54 million from 1,517 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office. It had the third-biggest opening weekend for a documentary in the past decade, and the top opening for a political documentary since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In its second weekend the film made $2.5 million (a drop of 41%), finishing in seventh, and then on its third weekend, it made $1.1 million (a drop of 55%), finishing in twelfth.

= Critical response

= On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an average five out of five stars. Walsh wrote on X during the opening weekend of the film that no mainstream film critics had yet reviewed it. He said that an early screener of the film was offered to mainstream outlets but had no taker, and that independent critics had written to him refusing to review the film. Tatiana Siegel wrote in Variety that the film is "either hilarious or offensive, depending on which side of the MAGA fence you sit on". Vinson Cunningham in The New Yorker wrote that while Walsh appeared "stunningly fluent" in DEI jargon, the movie missed deeper complexities of racial discourse, and called Walsh "as much of a grifter" as the most "shameless" consultants he critiques. Jason L. Riley, in The Wall Street Journal 's Opinion section, wrote that "you'll laugh a lot" and that Walsh's approach "exposes the DEI industry by letting practitioners discredit themselves". Tom Joyce of the NewBostonPost described the film as "compelling and funny" and that "Walsh makes a mockery of the diversity, equity, and inclusion industry and exposes it as yet another exercise in capitalism." Megan McArdle in the Opinion section of The Washington Post argued that "you might not enjoy" Am I Racist? but "should watch it anyway". Joel Stein reviewed the film for The Hollywood Reporter and said the film "feels like a comedy made by an alien who's seen comedies." Commenting on Walsh's performance, Stein wrote he "lacks some of the skills of a comedian, such as being funny." Denny Burk in the Christian magazine World wrote that he supports exposing "DEI lunacy", but said a dispute between Robin DiAngelo and Walsh indicated that the filmmakers' methods may have included "deception and lying when doing so for an ostensibly good cause".

References

External links

Official website Official trailer Am I Racist? at IMDb Am I Racist? at Metacritic Am I Racist? at Rotten Tomatoes