Review

Review Date: 23-April-06
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

American Dreamz (2006)

I have never seen a "reality" show — haven't, in fact, watched any TV for a few years — but the pervasiveness of the phenomenon is such that I quickly tuned into "American Dreamz," Paul Weitz's weird lampoon of the ingredients of today's apple pie. I say "weird" because this movie is very broad and ought not to work at all, what with intertwined spoofs of Muslim terrorists, white trash princesses, cynical celebrities, and a dimwitted president from Texas. But it does work, and on different levels which almost beg the question whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, laughing wins.

"American Dreamz" centers around an enormously popular TV show where contestants vie to become recording stars. The show is hosted by world-weary, self-loathing Martin Tweed (inevitably and effortlessly played by Hugh Grant), whose only desire is to perpetuate his pop-culture status even though it can't relieve his ennui. Towards this end, he handpicks a couple of contestants including a rabidly ambitious Midwesterner named Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore) and a quirky Arab pilgrim named Omer (Sam Golzari, adorable). Also, he negotiates with the White House Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) to have the president (Dennis Quaid) serve as co-judge for the season finale. If you're wondering why the prez would do such a thing, it's because voters think his recent withdrawal from the public eye means he's gone nuts. Actually, he's just busy doing something he has never done before: attempting to learn about the world outside the U.S.

The humor derives from the way these people interact with each other and their various friends, family, and hangers-on. Weitz only goes for easy targets, but he definitely hits the mark. The show-biz folks are devotees of the cult of fame and fortune, different from the average American by being initiated into its rites. Sally is the average American (described by her agent as someone who can only hope to be middle-class), except she's marked by unusual drive and talent. Her ruthless version of a heartland heroine is contrasted with the genuine simplicity of her boyfriend Willy Williams (Chris Klein, superadorable). Across the stage but worlds away, Omer looks at everything Martin, Sally, and Willy stand for and embraces it as wonderful. This makes life difficult, because he has been ordered by a terrorist cell to use the "Dreamz" opportunity to assassinate the president. Speaking of whom, perhaps the biggest joke of all is the use of the magnificent Quaid to mimic someone who's barely in the same species. But I must say, he makes dumb look cute when it's all in fun, and Dafoe does a pretty good Dick Cheney.

Weitz (who wrote, produced, and directed) keeps everything in his melting pot at a simmer and even blends it together at the end. His greatest accomplishment (in which he's helped by the solid cast) is that he makes the viewer care for the characters even as he's laughing at them. This, I suppose, is the key to reality shows as well. If they offer a lesson, it might be the one that Weitz extends to the big issues of our time: that a wise person reacts to the foolishness of humanity with neither too much pessimism nor too much naiveté. We can only dream.

Copyright © 2006 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.