Movies / Movie Reviews

Pop Idols And Presidents At American Dreamz

By Hervé St.Louis
April 20, 2006 - 07:28

American Dreamz


American Dreamz is a comedy spoofing the current American presidency and popular television series, American Idol. The American President, who just got reelected decides to take it easy for his second term and find out more about the world without the aid of his weekly briefings. Fearing the President’s new attitude and disappearance from the media, his chief of staff enlists him as a judge in the country’s most popular series, American Dreamz.

But American Dreamz host and judge, Martin Tweed, decides to reinvigorate the newest season of the popular show with new types of contestants. His formula for continued success; a white trash pop country singer and an Arab/Pakistani hack. However, the contestants Tweed recruited have mind of their own. Will the talent show make the President popular again or will the contestant’s popularity eclipse him?

The best parts of American Idol are the rejected segments where they show freaks trying to receive an invitation in front of Simon Cowell, the real British critic on which Tweed is based. Having stopped watching American Idol this last year, the only thing that might may me watch this talents show are the hacks. Here Paul Weitz understands exactly what people like in these shows. He also hints at without ever being too intelligent and serious at the jury rigging and the conspiracy theories behind the show that people like to claim exist.

The conspiracy behind who will win this year’s American Idol seems to grab the attention of television viewers more than the going ons at the White house. And justifiably, Weitz shows us that the average American President’s disappearance in the film is only a cause for concern for the press gallery and the White House staff. The President is a direct take on George W. Bush. Dennis Quaid captures the innocence of the President very well.

The best part of the film is Omar, the Arab singer, who did not get top billing for this film. Omar and his cousin made everyone in the audience laugh continuously throughout the film. That’s the good thing about Weitz’s directing. The humour is never forced or slapstick. It comes naturally from the situations. Several times I felt compelled to applaud after hearing the performances of the singers as if I was in the studio watching their performance live. That’s quite a feat for the director to make the audience feel like they are really involved with the actors.

The cinematography is basic with several scenes being shot from a cameraman’s view point while videos montages are created to make the film look as close as possible to the real thing. American Dreamz in not a complex allegory of the American political and cultural world as the posters suggest. It’s not the funny equivalent of Fahrenheit 9/11, but it’s a great comedy looking at something much more sinister, with a candid eye.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12