American Dreamz
LINKS
— Overview
— Cast and Crew
— Photo Pages
Just what comprises the mystical American Dream? Paul Weitz’s latest production, American Dreamz, explores a not-so-distant potential future in which Reality TV is the savior of everyone from the (pathetic) starry-eyed contestants to the deliberately uninformed (at least through his first term) re-elected President of the United States. A broad look at the elusive pursuit of “success,� Dreamz throws plenty of punches without delivering many effective punchlines.
Winning (the symbol of success à la America) drives three caricature Idol-type contestants to various extremes of competitiveness as they scratch and claw their way to the American dream of fame and fortune. In direct contrast, the famous and fortunate host, Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), exhibits the empty, self-absorbed celebrity we have come to know and distrust. Is this vapid, self-loathing man really what these contestants want to become?
Well, it would appear so.
The trio of final contestants is as overstated and lampoonish as are the marionette-President and the television host. While Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore) may be resemble what most of us expect from a superstar wannabe, Omer (a show-tune-loving transplanted terrorist-training-camp failure who is supposed to use a suicide bomb to kill the President on national television) seems to represent satire for satire’s sake, along with Orthodox Jewish rapper Sholem, whose yarmulke stays firmly affixed as he pursues stardom. Not incidentally, these contestants have been selected, at Tweed’s request, because they are “freaks.� Bored with the typical semi-talented but savagely competitive contestants, Tweed has sent his crew to recruit talentless, pathetic naïfs to liven up the show on which, not coincidentally, the President himself will appear as a judge.
The overarching parallel in the story is between celebrity and politics—the contestants (particularly Sally) compete with a voracity rivaling the mudslinging presidential campaigns of recent years. Meanwhile, President Staton himself (Dennis Quaid) is actually losing favor with the public (and his Chief of Staff, played deftly by Willem Dafoe) by becoming more educated about our country and its place in the world, rather than staying willfully ignorant and allowing his Chief of Staff to dictate his every word (literally—through an earpiece).
Weitz’s satirical look at current American culture and the obsession with popularity has its humorous moments, but often takes the issues too far. In a sort of live-action Team America style, nearly every demographic is ritually mocked, from wildly popular (but vapid and self-absorbed) celebrities (Martin Tweed, played by Hugh Grant) to earnest (if naïve) military personnel (Sally Kendoo’s rejected but tenacious boyfriend, William Williams, played by Chris Klein).
But while Weitz’s humor is evenly distributed, there are, it seems, certain issues that never warrant laughter, terrorism perhaps topping the list, followed closely by soldiers injured in the line of duty and, not to be overlooked, suicide. Some may find the farcical depiction of a truly ignorant southern-accented president (whose devoted First Lady affectionately calls him “Poopy�) strikingly similar to a certain other current President of the United States—an either rabidly humorous or patently offensive resemblance, depending on whether the screen is tinted more heavily red or blue. And hypersensitive souls may find themselves offended on behalf of everyone—the “white trash� country singer, the bumbling terrorist and his homosexual manager-cousin, the exploited soldier, and even the “successful� but intensely miserable television star.
It would be nice to be able to say that, in the midst of the broad satire, Weitz offers some glimmer of hope, or some solution to the idolatrous craze that has become the American dream. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of anything—or anyone—acting as a positive influence. Instead, we see myriad examples of manipulation, avarice, naïveté, and willful ignorance, with very little sanity to balance the pessimism.
There are dreams, and there are Dreamz, I guess. Let’s just hope that we all wake up from this one.
CONTINUE
— Overview
— Cast and Crew
— Photo Pages
— Overview
— Cast and Crew
— Photo Pages
Just what comprises the mystical American Dream? Paul Weitz’s latest production, American Dreamz, explores a not-so-distant potential future in which Reality TV is the savior of everyone from the (pathetic) starry-eyed contestants to the deliberately uninformed (at least through his first term) re-elected President of the United States. A broad look at the elusive pursuit of “success,� Dreamz throws plenty of punches without delivering many effective punchlines.
Winning (the symbol of success à la America) drives three caricature Idol-type contestants to various extremes of competitiveness as they scratch and claw their way to the American dream of fame and fortune. In direct contrast, the famous and fortunate host, Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), exhibits the empty, self-absorbed celebrity we have come to know and distrust. Is this vapid, self-loathing man really what these contestants want to become?Well, it would appear so.
The trio of final contestants is as overstated and lampoonish as are the marionette-President and the television host. While Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore) may be resemble what most of us expect from a superstar wannabe, Omer (a show-tune-loving transplanted terrorist-training-camp failure who is supposed to use a suicide bomb to kill the President on national television) seems to represent satire for satire’s sake, along with Orthodox Jewish rapper Sholem, whose yarmulke stays firmly affixed as he pursues stardom. Not incidentally, these contestants have been selected, at Tweed’s request, because they are “freaks.� Bored with the typical semi-talented but savagely competitive contestants, Tweed has sent his crew to recruit talentless, pathetic naïfs to liven up the show on which, not coincidentally, the President himself will appear as a judge.The overarching parallel in the story is between celebrity and politics—the contestants (particularly Sally) compete with a voracity rivaling the mudslinging presidential campaigns of recent years. Meanwhile, President Staton himself (Dennis Quaid) is actually losing favor with the public (and his Chief of Staff, played deftly by Willem Dafoe) by becoming more educated about our country and its place in the world, rather than staying willfully ignorant and allowing his Chief of Staff to dictate his every word (literally—through an earpiece).Weitz’s satirical look at current American culture and the obsession with popularity has its humorous moments, but often takes the issues too far. In a sort of live-action Team America style, nearly every demographic is ritually mocked, from wildly popular (but vapid and self-absorbed) celebrities (Martin Tweed, played by Hugh Grant) to earnest (if naïve) military personnel (Sally Kendoo’s rejected but tenacious boyfriend, William Williams, played by Chris Klein).But while Weitz’s humor is evenly distributed, there are, it seems, certain issues that never warrant laughter, terrorism perhaps topping the list, followed closely by soldiers injured in the line of duty and, not to be overlooked, suicide. Some may find the farcical depiction of a truly ignorant southern-accented president (whose devoted First Lady affectionately calls him “Poopy�) strikingly similar to a certain other current President of the United States—an either rabidly humorous or patently offensive resemblance, depending on whether the screen is tinted more heavily red or blue. And hypersensitive souls may find themselves offended on behalf of everyone—the “white trash� country singer, the bumbling terrorist and his homosexual manager-cousin, the exploited soldier, and even the “successful� but intensely miserable television star.It would be nice to be able to say that, in the midst of the broad satire, Weitz offers some glimmer of hope, or some solution to the idolatrous craze that has become the American dream. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of anything—or anyone—acting as a positive influence. Instead, we see myriad examples of manipulation, avarice, naïveté, and willful ignorance, with very little sanity to balance the pessimism.There are dreams, and there are Dreamz, I guess. Let’s just hope that we all wake up from this one.
CONTINUE
— Overview
— Cast and Crew
— Photo Pages
