Review of American Dreamz (2006) by Joe S — 12 Jun 2009

I was very pleasantly surprised by this film given the reviews it received upon it's release and its extremely poor business. What I found was a smart and sharp satire even where the film sometimes finds itself struggling to juggle its broad focus. In the political aspect of the film, Dennis Quaid and Willem Dafoe are spot on as send ups of Bush and Cheney with many laughs coming from Dafoe's attempts to control his slightly vacant President. The aspect of Terrorism is handled with a light touch that many thought cut too close to the bone. However to portray this issue in a comedic manner is no different to TV series such as Family Guy and to treat a topic as off-limits for satire increases our misunderstanding of it. Indeed comedy is as an effective weapon as any... But anyway! In satirising the reality TV boom as well, the film emphasises the sheer ridiculousness of these shows from the desperate need for a sob story to the minefield of live television. This is summed up in the frankly brilliant finale where the two are pushed to extremes with blackly hilarious results. Hugh Grant is brilliant as the nasty British judge (apparently based on someone) - indeed I prefer Grant in unsympathetic roles, he does them so well (eg. About A Boy, Bridget Jones). Equally Mandy Moore is surprisingly good as an absolute cold hearted bitch, a brave choice for the fledgling singer/actress. Indeed every role in this film seems expertly cast and each actor is spot on for their character.

The film is criticised as being ridiculous but frankly any cursory glance at a newspaper reveals a strange obsession with both terrorism and reality tv. Now that is truly ridiculous and this film merely mirrors this back to us. A very funny, interesting and brave film.