American Dreamz (2006)

Director:

Paul Weitz

Writer (WGA):

Paul Weitz (written by)

Release Date:

21 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

Imagine a country where the President never reads the newspaper, where the government goes to war for all the wrong reasons, and more people vote for a pop idol than their next President.

Plot:

The new season of "American Dreamz," the wildly popular television singing contest, has captured the country's attention, as the competition looks to be between a young Midwestern gal (Moore) and a showtunes-loving young man from Orange County (Golzari). Recently awakened President Staton (Quaid) even wants in on the craze, as he signs up for the potential explosive season finale.

Plot Keywords:

Chief Of Staff | Contest | Satire | Singing | Television

Cast

Hugh Grant	...	Martin Tweed
Dennis Quaid	...	President Joseph Staton
Mandy Moore	...	Sally Kendoo
Willem Dafoe	...	Chief of Staff
Chris Klein	...	William Williams
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Martha Kendoo
Sam Golzari	...	Omer Obeidi
Marcia Gay Harden	...	First Lady Staton
Seth Meyers	...	Chet Krogl
John Cho	...	Frank Ittles
Judy Greer	...	Deborah Accordo
Bernard White	...	Agha Babur
Tony Yalda	...	Iqbal Riza
Noureen DeWulf	...	Shazzy Riza
Shohreh Aghdashloo	...	Nazneen Riza

Also Known As:

American Dreamz (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Australia:M | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:PG | Germany:6 | France:U | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Ireland:PG (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42341) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

NBC Universal Television

Trivia:

The interior White House scenes were shot on the set of "The West Wing" (1999).

Goofs:

Continuity: On the tray with the President's breakfast there's a small coffee pot placed right at the middle of the tray, obscuring the reflection of the camera. When the tray enters the President's bedroom, the pot has moved to the side of the tray.

Quotes:

Martin Tweed: Jessica, you make me feel like being a better person and I'm not a better person. I'm me.

Movie Connections:

References As Good as It Gets (1997)

Soundtrack:

Lez Git Raunchy

Underrated Satire

This smart satire about current issues and trends (the Iraq war, reality shows and all that jazz) is one of those sleepers that become cult movies 10 or 20 years after its original release. With an inspired cast that includes Hugh Grant as a cynical, vain TV show host (what were you expectin'?), Dennis Quaid as a dumb president who admires Carmen Electra and needs his chief of staff to think for him all the time (any similarity to real characters is no coincidence), Marcia Gay Harden as the first lady, Willem Dafoe as the chief of staff, and Mandy Moore as a talentless bitch (not even Moore could ruin it - this is, alongside another underrated satire, "Saved!", one of her least crappy performances, perhaps because she's kind of playing herself), and some very quotable lines, the movie tastes like a fast-food Monty Python - witty in spite of all the nonsense. "American Dreamz" may not have a memorable character like, say, Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat", but it's just as corrosive. Too bad it didn't get the attention it deserved when it came out. Do yourself a favor and go rent it. 7.5/10.