Directed by:
Paul WeitzScreenplay:
Paul WeitzCinematography:
Robert ElswitComposer:
Stephen TraskCast:
Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Marcia Gay Harden, John Cho, Judy Greer, Noureen DeWulf (more)Plots(1)
Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Martin Tweed, the greedy, self-despising producer and host of AMERICAN DREAMZ, an AMERICAN IDOL-like television program that chooses contestants more on the basis of their ratings potential than genuine talent. Unapologetic and calculated, Tweed recognizes something of himself in Ohio-bred, ruthlessly conniving contestant Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore). Dennis Quaid plays a pajama-clad President Staton, a character clearly modeled after George W. Bush. After taking a sudden interest in reading the newspaper, Staton grows confused and troubled by what he learns about his country and its international affairs. With the president refusing to leave his bedroom for weeks, the first lady (Marcia Gay Harden) and the Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) grow increasingly worried. Fearful that the president's laziness and newfound political awareness will cost him points in the public eye, the two orchestrate a plan that involves force-feeding him antidepressants and scheduling him for a spot as a guest judge on the finale of AMERICAN DREAMZ. Meanwhile, a terrorist plot unfolds, involving a planned assassination by another one of the show's contestants, the Broadway-dancing, theatre-loving Omer (Sam Golzari). (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (2)
There are moments when I expect very little from a film, and it's downright tragic when I get even less. American Dreamz is precisely such a movie. I have absolutely no idea how so many familiar names ended up here. Well, that's a lie, I know. The screenplay was one big mess from start to finish, filled with humor I didn't feel like laughing at, and both the "story" and characters were completely forgettable. It was the kind of film that would have been better off staying within the borders of the United States because that's where it might find more fans. One star mainly for the masks, because Willem Dafoe :-) / Lesson learned: Even famous actors can't do much without a quality script.
()
"We saw the movie American Dreamz and we had no other option". If in the future the terrorists who just bombed downtown Washington were to make such an argument, I might even understand and perhaps even forgive them. I give this unfunny piece of crap a star only for Dennis Quaid, who is obviously (and very successfully) making fun of George Bush.
()
Ads