Stars in their eyes
OMG. Hubby and I watched American Dreamz this week, and I cannot BELIEVE how long I went without seeing it. A hilarious send-up of politics, reality TV, pop-culture marketing, and the image of America, this movie is not to be missed.
The movie opens, oddly enough, on a Taliban training camp. Robed terrorists are going through their paces as another man films their activities. However, in each scene, there is ONE terrorist who is messing up the shot - falling over the wall instead of jumping over it, dropping awkwardly from the climbing pole, misfiring his weapon. We discover that this person is Olmer (Sam Golzari), who is only at the camp because he is related to its director. In the privacy of his tent at night, Olmer listens to old 45s of showtunes and dreams of being a song and dance man. The camp director, wishing to get Olmer off his hands for good, packs him off to live with another relative in California, telling him that his sleeper cell will contact him when the time is right (but fully intending to abandon him).
Meanwhile, Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), the British host of a very American-Idol-like reality TV show, is trying to keep his program at the top of the ratings. They are looking for a crop of contestants for the new season, and they discover Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), a singer from a rural area of Ohio. When he learns that Sally has a lovestruck Iraq War veteran (Chris Klein) for a boyfriend, something sparks Tweed's mind. He charges his team to also find an Arab and a Jew as contestants, leading to what he hopes will be hefty human intrest drama during the show.
In the meantime, America's President (Dennis Quaid) is looking for some high profile appearances to boost approval ratings. It is decided that he'll be a guest judge on the final episode of the show, moving all the major players towards an inevitable and thoroughly entertaining conclusion.
I nearly busted a gut during this movie. It is SUCH an accurate, sly parody of American society and the U.S. marketing machine. Performances are wonderful and light. Quaid is chuckle-worthy as the befuddled president, and Moore is a force as the driven, scheming Sally Kendoo. Golzari's Omer personifies the world's fascination with America. The script is fresh, funny, and smart. Rounding out the cast are Marcia Gay Harden as the first lady, Jennifer Coolidge as Sally's pushy stage mom, and Willem Dafoe as the President's chief of staff. With such an all-star cast, HOW can you lose??! Sooooo worth seeing.
The movie opens, oddly enough, on a Taliban training camp. Robed terrorists are going through their paces as another man films their activities. However, in each scene, there is ONE terrorist who is messing up the shot - falling over the wall instead of jumping over it, dropping awkwardly from the climbing pole, misfiring his weapon. We discover that this person is Olmer (Sam Golzari), who is only at the camp because he is related to its director. In the privacy of his tent at night, Olmer listens to old 45s of showtunes and dreams of being a song and dance man. The camp director, wishing to get Olmer off his hands for good, packs him off to live with another relative in California, telling him that his sleeper cell will contact him when the time is right (but fully intending to abandon him).
Meanwhile, Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), the British host of a very American-Idol-like reality TV show, is trying to keep his program at the top of the ratings. They are looking for a crop of contestants for the new season, and they discover Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), a singer from a rural area of Ohio. When he learns that Sally has a lovestruck Iraq War veteran (Chris Klein) for a boyfriend, something sparks Tweed's mind. He charges his team to also find an Arab and a Jew as contestants, leading to what he hopes will be hefty human intrest drama during the show.
In the meantime, America's President (Dennis Quaid) is looking for some high profile appearances to boost approval ratings. It is decided that he'll be a guest judge on the final episode of the show, moving all the major players towards an inevitable and thoroughly entertaining conclusion.
I nearly busted a gut during this movie. It is SUCH an accurate, sly parody of American society and the U.S. marketing machine. Performances are wonderful and light. Quaid is chuckle-worthy as the befuddled president, and Moore is a force as the driven, scheming Sally Kendoo. Golzari's Omer personifies the world's fascination with America. The script is fresh, funny, and smart. Rounding out the cast are Marcia Gay Harden as the first lady, Jennifer Coolidge as Sally's pushy stage mom, and Willem Dafoe as the President's chief of staff. With such an all-star cast, HOW can you lose??! Sooooo worth seeing.
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