"American Dreamz" they are not

Ok, so... on Sunday I saw American Dreamz. I was very excited, and so was CJ (Carol Jackson, aka Mom), because we both lurve Hugh Grant. He's so verrry dreamy. And British.

So, we smuggled in the requisite coffee (iced coffee for me, decaf vanilla americano for CJ), got there about 45 minutes early to get prime seating, put our feet up, and waited with breathless anticipation... or something.

And then it started, and while I found the satire of the Bush Administration and American Idol enjoyable in theory, I just felt as though this was not a dream I would remember (cue laughter for sad, sad attempt a joke)...

Dennis Quaid was a half-assed President Bush... who really emoted a whole lot of nothing. And while, yes- Bush is a President who does a whole lot of nothing, he still has personality. No matter how tragic and stupid it may be.

Mandy Moore was good- and tried her best to do more with a part that was only halfway written and therefore could only be halfway realized. Ditto with Hugh Grant's character... a Simon Cowell/Ryan Seacrest hybrid. Chris Klein, surprisingly, was pretty decent too.

I guess my main problem was that I wanted to laugh at it... but found myself forcing the laughter 90% of the time. Out of pity? Obligation? Wishful thinking?

The only shining gem was truly the character Iqbal... his gay-American-Dreamz-Contestant-wannabe character was a hoot and a half. No joke. When I laughed at him, I definitely meant it. Tony Yalda is his name. He gets two thumbs up.

It seems more like a bunch of character outlines, and not so much of an actual story. And while it seemed to mesh together at times, it appeared to do so quite desperately. So, go see it, I guess... but netflixing it would be a far better idea. No matter how badly we want to enjoy this movie.

I did, however, greatly enjoy the movie poster (please see picture above).