American Dreamz
“American Dreamz” is the fifth film by writer-director Paul Weitz, one of the brightest talents behind the camera of modern comedy after intelligent and witty films like “American Pie,” “About a Boy,” and “In Good Company” (only 2001’s “Down to Earth” with Chris Rock was a misfire). His latest doesn’t match the comic highs of those films, but it does share their focus on character and story, even if it’s political and social satire is too broad and obvious to be effective.
The film focuses on the titular reality show (do I need to tell you which one it satirizes?), and how it effects the lives of five people- Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), the pompous British host; Joe Staton (Dennis Quaid), the just re-elected President who listens too much to his advisors until he starts reading the newspaper; Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), a pretty Ohio girl who will win “Dreamz” at any cost; William Williams (Chris Klein), Sally’s ex-boyfriend whose dejection lead him to the Army, where he was wounded his first day in Iraq; and Omer (Sam Golzari), an Afghan soldier- who loves showtunes- whose mother was killed by a US bomb but is clumsy as a soldier and is shipped off to his cousin’s in California.
It’s hard to gauge the performances since all the actors are essentially playing caricatures, but I was engaged in all of their lives and stories- a credit to Weitz as a writer. Special props to Quaid (who was in “Company”) as a president who wants to break free from the filter that feeds his talking points, but feels powerless to do so; he’s basically playing a parody of Dubya, but he ends playing a thoughtful and intelligent human being who feels reined in. Next in the acting prizes in Klein (from “Pie”), who finds the pain in a person who’s used by those he cares about. Golzari as Omer is an individual who- like the President- finds it hard to break free from the beliefs of the people around him and just be himself. Grant (whose work in Weitz’s “Boy” is his best ever) embodies Tweed with his signature charm and sarcasm, and even hints at the self-loathing underneath. Moore- a talented actress (to go with her great voice) when given smart material to work with- shows the same type of vicious mean streak within a bubbly personality she displayed in “Saved!”. I felt just as uneasy about it here as I did in that film; still, she’s allowed brief moments of self-reflection and empathy that engage us in her character, the one most changed by the “Dreamz” machine.
Like I said, the satire is too obvious to hit its mark, and the jokes don’t hit their mark a lot of times, but “American Dreamz” is a worthy entry in Weitz’s ever-impressive canon of intelligent comedies.
