American Dreamz (2006)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

This satire on fame, politics and the Middle East might had been an brave undertaking back in 2006 but falls woefully short of its targets.Hugh Grant plays a creator, host and producer of an American Idol type show but he is capable of being more cynical, bitter, twisted than the Simon Cowell lite version we have here, it was a waste of Grant's talents that such an opportunity for him to shine was wasted.Dennis Quaid plays the spaced out President of the USA who becomes a guest judge for the final, but Quaid's President is just a barely sketched out role and rather dull and boring part of the film. Only Willem Dafoe in heavy make up shines as a Dick Cheney type manipulator. Once again Dafoe shows that whilst heavily disguised he can play fast and loose than the more uptight portrayals when he is without it.The rest of the film concerns a would be Middle East terrorist who loves show tunes and ends up visiting wealthy relatives in the USA, a rapping Jewish Rabbi and a trailer trash go getter who will stop at nothing to get to the top and her dim boyfriend who joins the armed forces.Together they somehow end up in the Pop Idol type show, but the satire on talent shows, the manipulation of the media, politics and people could be had been more sharper and cynical, some of it works but its too hit and miss and could had gone deeper under the skin but I guess the film-makers lost their edge when it came to the final cut.

Against good advice I decided to watch 'American Dreamz'. The fact that Dennis Quaid is playing president and that Hugh Grant is in it should have been reason enough to avoid this. But the reality show spoof concept and the supposed satire angle got me interested. Moreover I had read Ben Elton's 'Chart Throb' (that came out the same year) which also revolves around the behind the scenes of a song contest reality show and it's one of the funniest books I have ever read. So 'American Dreamz' couldn't be that bad now can it? In all fairness, with the exception of the terrorist angle, it is quite funny in the beginning. It could have been more amusing but nonetheless I laughed a little. Then somewhere before the second half it heads downhill not standing any chance for recovery. The movie felt very rushed. The whole terrorist angle felt out of place and clichéd. There's also a boring preachy 'patriotic' sequence. Mandy Moore is adequate. Willem Dafoe, Judy Greer, John Cho, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Marcia Gay Harden are first rate (but every one of them have tiny roles). Hugh Grant is irritating as usual. Dennis Quaid is passable. And, 'American Dreamz' is forgettable.

I wavered for a long time trying to decide if I liked this movie or not. It's like a bad car wreck... no, worse... It's like when you find an eyeball in the toilet. It's absolutely nauseating, but at the same time you feel a morbid, scientific desire to poke at it."American Dreamz" is possibly the thickest satire I've seen since Catch-22, but with a heavy dose of "Kentucky Fried Movie" thrown in for silliness. However, this film suffers from one major problem. There is an unwritten rule in satire that you have to inject 1 normal character into the mix so that the audience can have some perspective and relief from the sarcasm. Ideally it's the protagonist to whom we relate (like level-headed Jerry Seinfeld in "Seinfeld" set against Kramer, George, Neuman and other neurotic oddballs, or like Brian in "The Life of Brian" or like Gene Wilder in "Blazing Saddles"). We didn't get that here. Each & every character is so thoroughly over-the-top irritating that you find yourself hoping they all get skinned alive and dumped in a lemon pepper marinade.Believe it or not, the most sympathetic character would be that of the President (Bush), whom this film skewers most brutally. In this film he is portrayed as a clueless bumpkin but with a human side. All the other characters in the movie are either 1st class douchebags or simpering sacks of goo. The satire itself is laid on so heavily and without respite that you find yourself slowly losing your attention span, if not your mind.There is a payoff, though. Be sure to stick around for the last 5 minutes, because that's where I believe this film really delivers. I laughed out loud, and at the same time I realized what a perfect ending it was. The whole film is like an infuriating, painful sneeze that builds up for 90 minutes and finally, whooooosh, it's out.Come to think of it, I'll probably be watching it again. I guess I'm a bit of a masochist at heart. There's no telling how you might react, but at least I hope I've given you an idea of what to expect.

This is a hilarious, if not perfect, satire. Mainly making fun of everything related to American pop culture, this also dedicates effort to parodying the administration of the time(and not doing anything to make it less obvious that that's what it's about)... and as something nice and different, it's about their personalities, not their politics. The humor is excellent, with a lot of dark comedy and absurdity, as well as cleverness. There is a lot of bravery in how far it goes to mock certain things, and I found the vast majority of it hysterical. With that said, some jokes and gags try too hard and fall flat. And I won't be an ass and claim that "everyone who doesn't like this doesn't get it". Weitz also directed American Pie and Down to Earth, and like in the first-mentioned, this juggles several plot-lines well. The characters are mostly credible, if not all the events are. It should perhaps be mentioned that you are, in fact, not supposed to sympathize with everyone in this, and it also is worth noting that there *are* a couple of likable ones, that you can relate to. The performances are a tad mixed, but they tend to be good. Klein is great, as is Grant. Greer isn't given enough to do, in my opinion. And yes, Moore is pretty annoying. She's not an actress, or wasn't at this point. The singing in this is enjoyable. There is occasional sexuality(and a little eye-candy, for both genders), mainly hinted at, sometimes in dialog(no details), and brief strong language in this. I recommend this to anyone that can imagine being entertained by it. 7/10