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'Dreamz' fails to find much humor
BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / GZO
Friday, Apr 21, 2006 - 12:07:01 am CDT

It’s hard to effectively pull off contemporary political and cultural satire on film. The latest case in point: “American Dreamz.”

Its targets are well selected: “American Idol,” President Bush, the war in Iraq and terrorism. And its point that we are more interested in the latest manipulated television diversion than in issues that really matter is always well taken, even if it is a little shopworn.

But writer/director Paul Weitz doesn’t get everything to fire on screen, making this a hit-or-miss effort that doesn’t fully connect.

“American Idol” in this case is called “American Dreamz.” Rather than having a three-judge panel, it’s presided over by host/judge Martin Tweed. Smugly played by Hugh Grant, Tweed is clearly a knock off of “Idol’s” Simon Cowell, who could use a little puncturing.

The Bush character is called President Staton and he’s played as a dimwitted, Bible-reading doofus by Dennis Quaid. Having just won a close election, Staton is melting down. He actually starts reading newspapers and immersing himself in world issues, much to the chagrin of his chief-of-staff Sutter (Willem Dafoe).

A Karl Rove-like character, Sutter comes up with a way to remain Staton’s brain, giving him an earpiece through which he tells Staton what to say in every situation.

The war in Iraq comes into the picture through William Williams (Chris Klein), the boyfriend of wanna-be “Dreamz” contestant Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), an Ohio karaoke champion. When she finds out she’s going to be on the show, Sally dumps William, who promptly enlists in the Army and, in two weeks, is sent to Iraq where he’s wounded.

Returning home as a war hero, William is cynically welcomed home by Sally, her ambitious mother (Jennifer Coolidge) and the slimy agent who she’s hired to help her win the contest. Of course, it helps that Tweed has a bit of a crush on Sally.

Her main competition is Omer (Sam Golzari), a wanna-be terrorist who is sent to California to live with his relatives until he’s called into action. A bumbler who loves show tunes, Omer is never supposed to be a hostage. But when he inadvertently becomes a “Dreamz” contestant, his plans change.

That’s because Sutter, as part of a public relations campaign to show the president as engaged and connected with the people, has signed him up as a guest judge for the “Dreamz” finals.

That combination could have led to great fun. But “American Dreamz” lacks the edge needed for effective satire. Films like “Dr. Strangelove” and, more recently, “Wag the Dog” work because the biting commentary is contained in a story that nearly goes over the top, but remains both topical and consistently funny.

Here, the jokes get to be repetitious and the story never quite takes advantage of its ripe targets. Grant never makes Tweedy as hateable as the real Cowell when the fictional character should be completely loathsome — wait a minute, maybe it was impossible to be as hateable as the real Cowell.

Anyway, the same thing holds true for all the characters. Marcia Gay Harden, who plays Mrs. Staton, comes closer than anyone to nailing a true satiric performance and Quaid does convey the qualities of an out-of-touch puppet president with some sympathy.

But Moore is largely a waste as the ambitious Sally and the terrorist subplot simply doesn’t work.

That doesn’t mean that “American Dreamz” doesn’t have some laughs, because it does. Nor does it mean that Weitz misses all his ripe targets. But, given those targets, the film could have been much better and much funnier.

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.

American Dreamz

Director: Paul Weitz

Stars: Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Chris Klein, Willem Dafoe

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

Running Time: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Now Showing: Grand

The Reel Story: This satire based on “American Idol” and President Bush is a hit-and-miss affair that’s not as funny as it could have been.