Clevercell Very disappointing...

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

s t It is silly and very 1980s but having seen it originally at an impressionable age, it remains one of my favorite movies of all time. The desire to be more than you are, to be beautiful and rich and important and above all a bit dangerous...who couldn't relate? An overlooked and delightful movie. I am in Paris now, and almost wishing I could be Rebecca Ryan.

Christopher T. Chase When "American Dreamer" was released in theaters back in 1984, I was working as an usher in Atlanta, at one of the ones lucky enough to have it (it has now long since been replaced by a raft of "big box" stores.) I was a movie lover anyway, which is why I took the job, but this was one of those welcome times when being an usher was anything BUT boring.I have been a longtime JoBeth Williams fan since the POLTERGEIST movies, but this one has to contain one of her most charming performances. She portrays "average" hausfrau Cathy Palmer, with two engaging kids, a real wiener of a husband (James Staley, making suburban caddishness look a little too realistic), and virtually no time at all for herself...except for when she reads about the latest exploits of her favorite mystery novel heroine, "Rebecca Ryan." A budding writer as well (when and if she has time), her imagination is captured when a contest is announced involving her favorite books - write your own short story about Rebecca and win a trip to Paris! And what do you know...she does. Against the snide, sarcastic barbs of her stooge of a spouse, Cathy ends up enjoying her prize alone...and loving it! (Who wouldn't want to sip wine while gazing out at the Champs Elysee?) But the movie really takes off when an accident causes Cathy to have a slight concussion...and when she wakes, she's no longer just a fan of Rebecca Ryan's adventures. She IS her!!!The madcap mayhem that ensues as she embarks on "Rebecca's" latest mystery soon inadvertently involves the stately author of the novels, (Coral Browne, aka Mrs. Vincent Price), the author's charming and befuddled son, Alan (Tom Conti with his bumbling, beaming Brit persona turned up to "11"), and a high-profile politico, (Giancarlo Giannini), whose shady dealings will soon cause fantasy and real-life to blur for Cathy/Rebecca in a way that will turn Paris upside down!Yes, it's a charming trifle, made even more so by the solid performances of its leads. And it also has a wonderful score and a great '80's-style theme song underneath the end credits, so don't shut it off too soon!I think that DREAMER'S strong resemblance to the outstanding ROMANCING THE STONE hurt its chances of being a bigger box-office hit at the time, but if you love romantic adventures and screwball comedy, you shouldn't let anything deter you from enjoying the adventures of a real heroine...and her name is Palmer. Cathy Palmer. (HA! I bet you thought I was going to say "Rebecca"!)

caa821 I just saw this movie for the second time, after several years. Didn't realize it was now 22 years since release, and that it was already about 10-years-old when I first saw it.Whatever, it is an excellent film - one of those which originally slipped a bit "under the radar," and with two thoroughly engaging, attractive, talented leads, who for some reason didn't quite make the higher Hollywood "A" list.Jobeth Williams and Tom Conti both have fine careers, but neither has obtained superstar status; personally, I have enjoyed the work of both more than a number who have attained that level.This is a thoroughly pleasant and humorous film, and their characters and relationship in the film were likewise.As to analyzing the film, its set-ups, etc. - I agree completely with the earlier comment posted by "xavrush89." Had I not caught it, I would have made precisely the same points it contains (although perhaps not as well).

MartinHafer This is a marvelous but pretty much undiscovered film from the 1980s that somehow "slipped under the radar"--getting little attention at its release. And this is a great shame, as it's a charming and funny film about a romance writer that will appeal to both men and women.JoBeth Williams plays a frustrated woman who reads a lot of romance novels--particularly those involving a character named "Rebecca Ryan". She wins a trip to go to France, but her selfish husband doesn't want to go even though it's free (what a jerk), so she goes without him. However, once there, she is hit on the head (a familiar plot device, I know) and she believes she IS Rebecca Ryan!! This Rebecca Ryan is sort of like James Bond and Jessica Fletcher combined and she insists she is on the trail of a crime. However, she soon meets the actual person who writes the Rebecca Ryan stories and HE recognizes everything she is saying as coming from the books HE wrote (yep--the author is a guy writing under a pen name and uses his mother to pose as her). He (played by Tom Conti) realizes she's a very disturbed woman, but JoBeth Williams is SO convincing as Ms. Ryan that people don't believe him and think she really is an international woman of mystery and battler of evil!!! Where the script goes from here is amazing and silly--especially because JoBeth actually finds herself tied up in a REAL international assassination plot! It is a highly amusing film that is both a "chick flick" and a lot of fun for guys in the audience as well.