American Dreamz (2006)

Very disappointed :(

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) is the self-loathing host of the highly successful talent show American Dreamz. US President Joseph Staton (Dennis Quaid) just got re-elected and decides to actually read the newspaper after 4 years in office. He's shocked at the news and starts to do more reading. His Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) tries to cover it up by signing him up to judge the new season of American Dreamz. Deborah Accordo (Judy Greer) and Frank Ittles (John Cho) are two of the producers looking for talent. Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore) dumps her boyfriend William Williams (Chris Klein) and he joins the Army. Her agent Chet Krogl (Seth Meyers) tells her to take back William after he gets flesh wound in Iraq. Omer Obeidi (Sam Golzari) is a failed terrorist. When Omer gets to the finals, the terrorists see an opportunity to kill the President.This thinly veiled American Idol satire is way too broad to hit any real targets. In fact, none of it is funny. The President is so on the nose. Hugh Grant loses his charming ways. Mandy Moore is nowhere near funny enough to be the lead girl. Trying to make terrorism a central part of this satire is a high risk move. It's not successful. Nobody is funny or simply not horrible. Judy Greer and John Cho come closest to being funny. Watching the fake contest is deadly boring. This starts with Paul Weitz's script and ends with Paul Weitz's directions. It has to be all his fault.

Originally published on Aril 18, 2006.The stunningly successful TV show, "American Idol," is ripe for parody and, finally, Hollywood has come around and satirized it (although) whether it's really funny is up to you the viewer. I thought it had its moments, but overall fell a bit short.Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) is the upper class, acerbic twit host of the nation's most popular show, "American Dreamz" (with a "Z"), which clobbers the competition and weekly draws more voters than presidential elections.Everyone seems to watch the program, even those residing in a small terrorist camp on the Afghanistan-Iraq border.Seeing this worldwide opportunity, a Dick Cheney-like vice-president, Sutter (Willem DeFoe), convinces the dimwitted Chief Executive, Pres. Joe Staton (a totally transparent G.W. Bush clone, played by a spaced-out Dennis Quaid), to appear as a guest judge on the season finale of the show to boost his sagging poll numbers (despite the fact he was recently re-elected).The Prez is so stupid, he doesn't know what a newspaper is, and needs cartoons as visual aids in his daily briefings. He also has to have DeFoe speak for him through a hearing aid/microphone contraption.Yeah, thanks Hollywood. We get that Quaid is supposed to represent a Bush-like figure and that Bush is supposed to be stupid in the minds of many celebrity liberals. Thanks for the subtlety.Meanwhile, blonde sweetheart, Sally Kandoo (Mandy Moore), from Ohio, dreams of winning the contest, no matter who gets hurt; as does rich, gay Iraqi-American, Iqubal (Tony Yalda), but his terrorist cousin, Omer (Sam Golzari), is somehow chosen instead.The show sequences feature the typical Idol contestant: a gay Clay Aiken character, a bald white dude, a black woman with a big voice and a bad hairdo, a long-haired rocker, and an Orthodox Jew. Okay, the last one isn't exactly typical, but played by Adam Busch (TV series "House"), he's hilarious.Grant gets to play the Simon Cowell character and insult most of these singers (although we don't really get to see enough of that). Most of the plot revolves around Sally, her pushy stage mother, Martha (Jennifer Collige, "Waiting For Gufman," "Best Of Show," "Date Movie"), puppy dog boyfriend, William Williams (Chris Klein, "American Pie," "We Were Soldiers"), and sleazy agent (Seth Meyers, a cast member of "Saturday Night Live").Subplot has goofy terrorist cell member Omer winning week after week with his bad singing and over-the-top dancing (taught to him by Iqubal), until he reaches the finals. He's then recruited to blow up himself and the President on live television.Conclusion has everything going array, but the show getting even higher ratings because of the total breakdown. It's a decent parody of the genre, which has become even more popular in real life. Stupid film has enough laughs (mostly through pokes at "Idol," the War on Terror, George W. Bush and other current pop culture icons) to keep some viewers lightly entertained throughout much of its one hour, 45 minute running time.Especially funny are the scenes where the lisping, prancing Iqubal turns his cousin into an American celebrity, who "Omerizes" the nation.

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.

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