Console
best movie i've ever seen.
Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Amy Richards
Good Points on American Dreamz 1) Great cast ( Hugh Grant plays a superb character as martin tweed he is one of my favourite actors and always seems like a good person to get along with. ( Mandy Moore - I was blown away from her singing she performed in this film.) 2) Not boring - I found this film not boring at all it had an upbeat to it to finding talent in America and what it took to get onto the show American dreamz.) I would totally recommend this film to anyone its fun, can be romantic at times but also ends with a twist. To be honest the ending was very unexpected i was waiting for a happy ending but it sure too a twist. This is my favourite film
gregeichelberger
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.
rooprect
I wavered for a long time trying to decide if I liked this movie or not. It's like a bad car wreck... no, worse... It's like when you find an eyeball in the toilet. It's absolutely nauseating, but at the same time you feel a morbid, scientific desire to poke at it."American Dreamz" is possibly the thickest satire I've seen since Catch-22, but with a heavy dose of "Kentucky Fried Movie" thrown in for silliness. However, this film suffers from one major problem. There is an unwritten rule in satire that you have to inject 1 normal character into the mix so that the audience can have some perspective and relief from the sarcasm. Ideally it's the protagonist to whom we relate (like level-headed Jerry Seinfeld in "Seinfeld" set against Kramer, George, Neuman and other neurotic oddballs, or like Brian in "The Life of Brian" or like Gene Wilder in "Blazing Saddles"). We didn't get that here. Each & every character is so thoroughly over-the-top irritating that you find yourself hoping they all get skinned alive and dumped in a lemon pepper marinade.Believe it or not, the most sympathetic character would be that of the President (Bush), whom this film skewers most brutally. In this film he is portrayed as a clueless bumpkin but with a human side. All the other characters in the movie are either 1st class douchebags or simpering sacks of goo. The satire itself is laid on so heavily and without respite that you find yourself slowly losing your attention span, if not your mind.There is a payoff, though. Be sure to stick around for the last 5 minutes, because that's where I believe this film really delivers. I laughed out loud, and at the same time I realized what a perfect ending it was. The whole film is like an infuriating, painful sneeze that builds up for 90 minutes and finally, whooooosh, it's out.Come to think of it, I'll probably be watching it again. I guess I'm a bit of a masochist at heart. There's no telling how you might react, but at least I hope I've given you an idea of what to expect.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
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
