Review of American Dreamz (2006) by Lovely L — 04 Sep 2012

SEPTEMBER 5th, 2012 REVIEW.

"Call me Tweedy." With those words, TV personality Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) introduces himself to the aspiring pop princess Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), whom he's invited to perform on the titular televised talent show. Her response--"Like Tweety Bird with a D?" Alas, Tweed is not so innocent.

Although he claims to despise his gig as the host of American Dreamz (a gaudy, "American Idol"-esque tournament), he has no qualms about humiliating contestents on the air and takes great pleasure in smiling at his own jokes in front of the camera. Rather than take up self-loathing, he revels in his own loathsomeness and sheer fakery. "Look where no talent will get you!" he cries early in the film. "Look at me now!".

In that regard, Tweed is not the typical hero of a Paul Weitz movie. As the director of the wonderful "In Good Company" (2004), Mr. Weitz strove to humanize his characters not only for the audience but for one another. But in "American Dreamz" (2006), he successfully created a distorted mirror image of his previous effort--a film in which the entire cast is either monstrous or monstrously deluded.

It should be noted that the breadth of the cast is quite splendid. Mr. Weitz (working with the brilliantly economical editor Myron Kerstein) starts the film by introducing Tweed and his show, but he quickly checks in with other charming buffoons: the President of the United States (Dennis Quaid); Sally her fellow American Dreamz prospectives; and finally, a group of terrorists who spend their days using a cut-out of the President for target practice.

What allows the film to build momentum is the connections between these disparate characters and they are all united by either love (or hatred) of American Dreamz. In this respect, the film is a delightfully unhinged fantasy--the images terrorists enjoying an American reality TV show in the middle of the dessert is quite strange. But Mr. Weitz appears to have some faith that even the most vulgar forms of pop culture can unite us.

If that strikes you as being too optimistic, I will assure you that there is plenty of misery to be found in the life of Tweed. For all of his insincerity, Tweed genuinely loves Sally because in her he recognizes a narcissistic kindred spirit (in the midst of American Dreamz's shiny pagentry, cinematography Robert Elswit captures something precious: the tenderness in Tweed's eyes as he watches Sally sing). His assessment of both Sally and himself is that they are "revolting," and this is what makes Tweed such a poignant and entertaining character--he may refuse to redeem himself, but he does see himself for what he truly is.

This separates him from the rest of the characters. The President is a deluded puppet and so are most of the American Dreamz contestents. That's why it's so chilling when the show is disrupted by a terrorist attack from an unlikely source (an American soldier)--politics, pop culture, and violence suddenly collide.

The staging of this attack is very peculiar. Mr. Weitz allows us to glimpse an explosion in which a main character is killed but we never see any carnage--all we get is the quick push of a button and a bang that seems to ring until the final credits. "American Dreamz" is easily one of Mr. Weitz's wittiest films and yet he allows a chill to linger in the final scene as a new crew of contestants steps onstage for a new season of American Dreamz, ready to begin.

ORIGINAL REVIEW.

In the films of director Paul Weitz, there is often a sense of subtly mutated deja vu; for instance the opening scene of "American Dreamz" (in which a woman tells her boyfriend she's leaving him) seems to echo a similar moment in Mr. Weitz's last film, "In Good Company". But this time, there is a twist: the man tells the woman that she was far too generous and kind for him anyway.

And in this one, pained moment, the key theme of the film is revealed: the growth of both a culture and an individual is impossible when people can't admit what they really are. The film is a satire of reality TV mania, placed in the context of the Bush era. The film makes the case that the problem isn't necessarily that pop culture distracts, but that those who obsess over it fail to see the its ridiculousness and in the process, delude themselves.

Which is an odd message to emerge from a mainstream Hollywood film. But in the short but smooth course of his astonishing solo career, Mr. Weitz has mastered the nuanced art of the comic critique. Though his mood is bitter here, his insights are sharp.

At the center of "American Dreamz" is Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), the host of the titular show. Though he hates his job and himself, he finds satisfaction in a romance with a singing contestant named Sally (Mandy Moore). There is something disgusting yet sweet about their affair, yet it is beautiful that they recognize one another for who they really are: frauds.

There's something to be said for that.

****:).