American Dreamz Reviews

I'd never heard of 'American Dreamz' before I came across it on Netflix one night. Now that I've seen the movie (I only watched it because I'm guilty of tuning in to those talent-based reality shows from time to time, so I was curious), I kind of wish that I could still say I'd never heard of it.

'American Dreamz' attempts to parody both "American Idol" and the Bush administration. Dennis Quaid, in an unfunny performance, stars as a United States President known primarily for being stupid (how clever! how original!) who's for some contrived reason set up to make a Very Special Appearance as a guest judge on some faux "American Idol" talent show. Hugh Grant plays the host of the talent show; I guess he's supposed to be like Simon Cowell. Other actors in the movie include: Mandy Moore (as an "America's sweetheart"-but-only-on-the-surface girl from the Midwest who competes on the show); Chris Klein (as her boyfriend); Willem Dafoe (as the "evil puppetmaster" behind Quaid's so-called President); and Marcia Gay Harden (as the First Lady). None of these actors is very memorable.

Well -- I suppose Klein is *somewhat* memorable. But that's only because his character plays a major part in the movie's ridiculous climactic scene (which is pathetically the "best" scene in the movie, though I won't give anything away).

Ultimately, everything about 'American Dreamz' is as annoying and lame as spelling "dreams" with a 'z' (what was the deal with THAT, anyway? Just spell it correctly.) (2/10)

Even though Hugh Grant has pretty much passed his prime, I still have a weak spot for him and I try to check his movies whenever I get the chance. To be honest, I thought this one was actually a nice surprise. Basically, it is a satire of 'Idols' and such talent shows and I thought it hit the right notes many times during the whole thing. First of all, there was also a pretty good cast (Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Marcia Gay Harden) and they all delivered some decent performances, especially Hugh Grant who was, as usual, rather hilarious. Unfortunately, I must admit the whole thing was rather unfocused and, honestly, rather messy but still, I think it deserved more credits than it usually got. That's very often the problem with so many characters, you often end up with several half-baked stories instead of fully fledged plot. Still, to conclude, even though it was nothing mind-blowing whatsoever, I think it was still not bad at all and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are a fan of Hugh Grant.

Was it supposed to be a sarcastic comedy? If so, where was the sarcasm? Heck, where was the comedy? Was it supposed to make fun of Bush? If so, don't they watch Daily Show or Colbert Report, to know how to really make fun of Bush? (hint, show bush using his own words, that does the trick). And what the bloody hell was that suicide bomber arab kid contestant near the end? what the ??? was that for drama? was that for satire? Is this movie targetted at arab youth, trying to show them NOT to commit suicide via bombings? Aren't people tired of seeing that wretched Dennis Quaid in starring roles? He seems to be in everything these days, and still sucks as bad as he did back in the 80s. And Mandy Moore. For the love of god and the country, STOP ACTING. Please. I beg you. STOP!