American Dreamer (1984)

Director:

Rick Rosenthal

Writers:

Ann Biderman (story)
David Greenwalt (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

She was an ordinary housewife until her trip to Paris turned into an extraordinary adventure.

Plot:

Frustrated housewife/writer Cathy Palmer ghostwrites a story about Rebecca Ryan, a dashing international spy...

Plot Keywords:

Housewife | Memory | Car | Contest | Prize

Awards:

1 win

Cast

JoBeth Williams	...	Cathy Palmer / Rebecca Ryan
Tom Conti	...	Alan McMann
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Victor Marchand
Coral Browne	...	Margaret McMann
James Staley	...	Kevin Palmer
Christopher Daniel Barnes	...	Kevin Palmer Jr. (as C.B. Barnes)
Huckleberry Fox	...	Karl Palmer
Jean Rougerie	...	Don Carlos
Pierre Santini	...	Inspector Klaus
Léon Zitrone	...	Ivan Stranauvlitch
Alain Flick	...	Train Passenger #1
Yassan Khan	...	Train Passenger #2
Christian de Tillière	...	Train Passenger #3
André Valardy	...	Dimitri
Robin Coleman	...	Golf Buddy #1

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

CBS Theatrical Films

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cathy and Alan are on the roof of the mansion, Cathy is seen wearing high heeled boots. When the boards they are walking on give way underneath them and they are left hanging from a bar over the water, you can see Cathy's boots no longer have heels.

Quotes:

Kevin Palmer: The important thing, kid, is that you're doing something you like to do.

Great fun movie that should've been more widely seen.

For a 1984 movie, this is still a very engaging light comedy. Jo Beth Williams' charm carries the film. Tom Conti plays a role similar to, and even more appealing than, the character he would later in Shirley Valentine (he has much more screen time here). Coral Browne (Vera Charles in "Auntie Mame," heavenly voice in "Xanadu") is good her her brief scenes. Also, see if you can recognize the boy who plays her older son.

Please do not cheat yourself by over-analyzing the plot of this movie. It is a fantasy and should be viewed as such. There are so many great comic scenes, that to me it didn't matter what they had to do to set them up. Just go with it. In fact, I think the preposterousness makes it work even more. This film deserves rediscovery, or hell, just plain discovery!