American Dreamz
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references.
reviewed by Kevin D. Hendricks
The nation is at war with terrorism, the president is deemed an anti-intellectual who doesn't read a newspaper, and a TV show about discovering pop stars gets more votes than a presidential election. Is this reality or just a movie?
The Story
“American Dreamz” is a wicked satire on “American Idol,” president George W. Bush, terrorism, Al Qaeda, and just about anything else the producers could hit with their satire stick.
The wildly popular reality show “American Dreamz” is back for another season and host/judge Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) is looking for undiscovered stars. Among the potentials are karaoke singing Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), who dumps her boyfriend (Chris Klein) to make it big only to reel him back in when he returns from Iraq as a wounded veteran and a powerful human interest story. But “American Dreamz” needs some diversity, so Kendoo is joined by the Jewish cantor Sholem Glickstein and the schmaltzy Omer, a recent Arab immigrant and bumbling reject from a terrorist training camp.
Meanwhile U.S. President Staton (Dennis Quaid) has just won re-election and is questioning his purpose, sitting around all day reading newspapers, and discovering new things about the world: "Did you know there are two kinds of Iraqistanis?" As part of a plan to get the President back in the public eye, he's booked as a guest judge on the final episode of “American Dreamz.”
Omer's sudden appearance on “American Dreamz” and potential proximity to the president of the free world is too tempting for the terrorists to resist. Despite his botched terrorist training, Omer is chosen to be a suicide bomber and blow up the president on live television.
The Verdict
If you can't already tell, “American Dreamz” lays it on a little thick, though the “American Idol” spoof is spot on. Hugh Grant makes pretentious look easy and does a smashing job lampooning “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell. Sally Kendoo pokes fun at all the starlets who go way too far to manufacture fame.
But then there's the anti-intellectual president. He's slow. He's dumb. He's supposed to be George W. Bush. We get it. But then the slams just keep coming. He needs medication. He reads the Bible. (Gasp!) He's incompetent. It's way over the top. And since when was terrorism an acceptable subject for comedy? The Middle-Eastern stereotypes and lampooning of terrorism are just awkward. Is there ever a time when suicide bombers are funny?
If the filmmakers had narrowed their sights to “American Idol,” it could have been hilarious. But they had to go into the realm of the ludicrous with singing suicide bombers who -- in the words of the Frank Sinatra classic -- "will do it my way."
“American Dreamz” is rated PG-13 for brief language and some sexual references.
Worldview
You need a certain perspective to think everybody fits into a neat little stereotype and can be mocked mercilessly. This movie has that jaded view, but even if you do disagree with the Iraq war and think the current president is less than the best, “American Dreamz” is still too much to swallow.
Aside from the overdone stereotypes and self-loathing celebrities, the most interesting perspective comes at the climax with the platitude that we should be able to solve our problems without blowing people up, a pointed barb at both terrorists and American foreign policy. If only the world were that simple.
No matter your opinion on the Iraq war, the conflict in Afghanistan, or the broader war on terrorism, it's a simple fact that humanity has never been good at solving problems without hurting people. War is tragic. It's brutal, it's messy, and costly mistakes are often made on both sides that take or scar the lives of the innocent. War sucks.
But sometimes it's not avoidable. Straightforward reasoning and conflict resolution don't have much effect on people willing to crash jets into skyscrapers or exterminate millions of people simply because of their race. The Bible tells us there is "a time for war and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8), and Christians have argued as far back as St. Augustine for governments to execute just wars. That doesn't mean violence is always justified -- Jesus told His followers to turn the other cheek when faced with personal conflicts.
“American Dreamz” would tell you nations can solve our problems without blowing people up, and what a great idea that is. Too bad it rarely works. That idealistic and simplistic view ignores humanity's capacity for evil. Humans are sinful creatures. As long as that remains true, war and violence will be a problem. That's not a justification for wrong or impulsive action. But sometimes, when all other hope is lost, the only recourse to save lives is to risk lives.
Questions
• Do you watch “American Idol?” Do you think the fame and fortune offered to the winners all it's cracked up to be?
• Do attention-seeking stars like Martin Tweed and Sally Kendoo and the real live people they spoof ever make good role models?
• When is war or national violence justified?
• Do you think Christ’s command to turn the other cheek was meant for individual Jesus-followers, or did He intend for nations to follow it, as well? Does the church and the government have different jobs to do in society, especially when it comes to the problem of evil? If so, how?
• Who do you think will win this season of the real “American Idol”?
