Get Out - 4 nominations

Best Picture - Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele
Actor - Daniel Kaluuya
Director - Jordan Peele
Original Screenplay - Jordan Peele

Get Out is the social commentary psychological thriller we all needed.  A modern day Stepford Wives where Chris, a young African American man (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) make their way to the uber-white, wealthy, seemingly liberal home of Rose's parents.  But there's a weird vibe to everyone they meet and talk to, and Rose's mom weirdly keeps wanting to psychoanalyze Chris, and the workpeople in the house have a crazy far away look in their eyes.  Nothing about this town nor these people makes sense and as Chris becomes more suspicious, it is clear that something in this place is just not right.

This film is magical.  Every actor is at the top of his/her game.  Every line (at least at the top of the script) is something we have all heard before.  To hear Bradley Whitford (who plays Rose's father) say to Chris, "I would have voted for Obama for a 3rd time if I could have" with utterly no context to that statement reminds of us of every awkward white person eager to prove his liberal credentials to a new black acquaintance.  (I'm betting Jordan Peele took that line from real life experience.)  It's these cringeworthy moments that capture the other side of the racial divide with people so desperate to connect that they alienate by default.

One of the taglines of this film is, "Just because you're invited, doesn't mean you're welcome."  There is a brilliance to the title of the film - who can forget Eddie Murphy's explanation for why there are no black leads in horror films because the black couple would enter the house praising it and excited to move in and that the house would say "Get Out" in a menacing whisper and instead of fighting the demons would turn to each other and say, "too bad we can't stay."  But I'm convinced that the "Get Out" admonition is at least ALSO a commentary on the way that dominant culture may signal a warm reception to people of color and others who are not like them, but then fail to recognize cultural messaging that secretly tells the other to leave.  To "be like us or get out."

With these nominations, the Academy has successfully signaled the opposite.  Jordan Peele is the first African American man with nominations in three categories in a single year.  That's the right direction in my book.

It's well worth every minute of your time.  (and not too scary, I promise!)