American Dreamz (Dr. Worm)

For those too busy to read an entire review, I’ll sum up American Dreamz in just one word: schmatire.

To break that down for those of you still reading: satire is defined as a “work in which vices, follies, stupidities, abuses, etc. are held up to ridicule and contempt.” And the “schm-” prefix indicates that the word it is affixed to should not be taken too seriously.

In it’s dealings with the president, for example, American Dreamz is a satire with all the cutting edge of a feather. Dennis Quaid plays President Staton—the name is really the only thing notably different from our current commander-in-chief. As the movie opens, Staton has just been elected to a second term. But instead of rushing out the next morning to triumphantly greet his constituency, he decides he wants to stay in his pajamas and—apparently for the first time in his life—read the newspaper. When this continues for several weeks, the public starts speculating on President Staton’s condition, while his right-hand-man Wally (Willem Dafoe channeling Karl Rove) decides that the president will appear on the wildly popular show “American Dreamz” in order to improve his sagging poll numbers.

Which brings us to satire target number two: “American Idol.” Here, Hugh Grant becomes Simon Cowell (renamed Martin Tweed in the movie) by reprising his self-interested-bastard role from About a Boy. It is here that the movie really shows its satiric claws. Whereas Quaid’s President Staton (Bush) is a lovable bumpkin—slow, but good-hearted—Grant’s Tweed (Cowell) is, for lack of better words, a prick. But, like Cowell, he’s a prick that’s fun to watch, so long as his prickliness isn’t directed at you.

Also starring in the reality-show story line are: Mandy Moore as Sally Kendoo, a white-trash girl desperate to become famous; Chris Klein as William Williams, Sally’s amusingly simple and genuine boyfriend, and Sam Golzari as Omer, a terrorist and the only legitimately likeable person in the film. His ineptitude, combined with his love-of-show-tunes, gets him sent away from his terrorist training camp, but when he gets cast as a contestant on the titular show, his terror cell decides to use him to get to the president.

Golzari is one of the few characters in the movie not guilty of what a former director of mine called "schmacting" (note the schm- prefix). Schmacting—in this case—refers to overplaying or caricaturing your character. It's a good way to a quick, cheap laugh, but it also weakens a character, making them ultimately less interesting to watch.

As I mentioned, Golzari avoids schmacting. So do Hugh Grant, Willem Dafoe, and Jennifer Coolidge (playing Mrs. Kendoo). Seth Meyers, as Sally Kendoo's agent, does an excellent job of being funny without schmacting. Chris Klein comes dangerously close, but still stays just on the right side of the schmactor line. But Mandy Moore? She does some major schmacting. As does Dennis Quaid as the President, and Marcia Gay Harden as his wife. And Tony Yalda as Golzari's cousin? Schmactacular.

In the end, I think that's what prevented the movie from being all it could be. Whether it was the director's choice or the actors', I don't know, but the recurrent overplaying of characters and jokes—in essence, telling the audience "laugh now, this is supposed to be funny!"—really weakened a movie that had the capacity to be much, much sharper.

With a bit more restraint, the movie could have been a ten. But, because it frequently lazily opted for a cheaper laugh, that ten is really just a schmen (which, translated into layman's terms, is actually just a five.)