Most People Didn't Like This 2006 Comedy, But I'm Here To Defend It

You know what time period I love in film history? The early 2000s. And, it's mostly because I think a lot of the movies were completely unhinged. One of my favorite unhinged movies is the 2006 American Idol satire film, American Dreamz, starring Mandy Moore, Hugh Grant, and a bunch of other noteworthy actors.

I’ve already discussed my love for the Crank series, and it must be remembered that the early 2000s was also the reign of Uwe Boll (who once beat up his critics. I'm dead serious).

What's interesting about American Dreamz, though, is that upon its release, it took a critical drubbing, which you likely wouldn't expect from a movie that also stars the likes of Willem Dafoe, Dennis Quaid, and Marcia Gay Harden. So, why do I love it then? Well, you're about to find out.

This Movie Came Out During The Bush Years And It Feels It

Do you know what I like to call the early 2000s? The 24 years. Not only is it one of my favorite TV shows of all time, but I think it also perfectly encapsulates that post 9/11 time period, where it seemed like everybody was focused on “the War on Terror.” In this era, terrorists were the bad guys. And, while most movies and TV shows took this seriously, there were a few that lampooned the current events (Like Team America: World Police).

Going back to Uwe Boll, in 2007, we got a video game movie from him that you might not have even heard of called Postal, and it actually begins with a 9/11 joke. Obviously, the movie is in poor taste, but it's one of the few films that dared to poke fun at something that was relatively recent, and American Dreamz pokes fun, too, though a lot more effectively.

In a nutshell, the film is about a talent show called American Dreamz, which is a parody of American Idol. Hugh Grant plays the host, Martin “Tweedy” Tweed, and even though he isn’t as prickly as Simon Cowell, you know that that’s who he’s taking inspiration from. American Idol is still around, of course, but I think it was at its peak in the early 2000s, and this film perfectly captures that mania.

That said, this film ALSO tackles the terrorism side of the early 2000s, which might be why people weren’t in love with this film at the time, since it’s like two different movies. However, that’s why I love it! But first, let me talk about the reality TV/talent show component.

This Movie Both Loves And Hates Reality TV In Equal Amounts

Reality TV has been around at least since the late 1940s when Candid Camera jumped from radio to TV, but it came back into major prominence in the ‘90s with The Real World, and then exploded in 2000 with Survivor. Since then, the whole concept of “reality” television has kind of been shown to be a farce. The actual “reality” side is often staged, and even though it’s often cheaper than producing scripted television, that doesn’t mean that reality TV isn’t also somewhat scripted, and this movie delves into that.

Mandy Moore plays a wannabe superstar, and she sees being on American Dreamz as her chance at stardom. When a film crew comes to her house to let her know that she’s been selected, she runs outside screaming and yelling, but is then told to do it over again since they weren’t filming at the time, to which she obliges, going even more over the top. This is obviously a dig at the whole nature of “reality” television, and the movie takes several more digs at it.

That said, you also kind of get a sense that the director/screenwriter, Paul Weitz, actually appreciates the whole ersatz nature of the medium. Even though people are getting absorbed by the stories of the contestants, you also kind of feel like Weitz finds something charming in a nation glued to their screens and united in something as silly as a talent show.

In fact, it’s the talent show that brings both Americans and jihadists (Yes, you heard that right) together in the end, which I’ll get into next.

A Key Plot Point In This Comedy Involves Sleeper Cells. I'm Serious

Okay, so while you have the whole reality TV/talent show aspect of the film, you also have the political side, as Dennis Quaid plays the President of the United States. Quaid is obviously a stand-in for Dubya, and he really plays up the caricature. Anyway, America is at war with the Middle East, and a character named Omer (Sam Golzari) loses his mother to an American attack.

Serious stuff, right? Well, yes, but not in this movie. Because Omer just so happens to love show tunes, so even though he joined a jihadist outfit that wants to scream death to America, he’s also too clumsy and awkward to be a proper terrorist. However, with the outreach for new talent for American Dreamz, the jihadists see their chance to blow up a lot of people during a taping of the show. And, with the President now being enlisted as a new judge, what better time than now to strap a bomb onto Omer?

Didn’t I tell you this movie was unhinged? But it goes further. Because Chris Klein (who once starred in the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my entire life) plays the boyfriend of one of the contestants, and even though he gets dumped, their relationship plays into the narrative that American Dreamz is trying to push.

That said, once he gets jilted again, he straps on a bomb, ending this movie on a kaboom. I’m telling you. This movie is crazy!

Luckily, The Cast Is All Game For The Lunacy

Even though the film didn’t do well at the box office, and it wasn’t a hit with critics, it sure does have a pretty stacked cast.

As mentioned in the intro, some of the big names that star in this film are Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe as the Chief of Staff, Mandy Moore as the singer, Sally Kendoo, Jennifer Coolidge (who played Stiffler’s mom in Weitz’s American Pie and now plays Mandy Moore’s mom in this film) Chris Klein as Kendoo’s boyfriend, Marcia Gay Harden as the First Lady, and Hugh Grant as the host.

And the thing is, they’re all game for the film. This is a really goofy movie, and all of the actors are just as goofy. I think Dafoe might be one of my favorites, as he’s constantly trying to clean up the president’s messes. He plays an understated, yet very larger-than-life performance.

In fact, this movie kind of makes me think of another satirical film I love, Don’t Look Up, in that it shows people with all the power in the world being utterly inept at their jobs. Nobody comes out of this film looking like a brainiac, and it’s all the better for it.

So, in the end, American Dreamz is honestly a hidden gem from the early 2000s. And, even though it’s pretty dated by today’s standards, it’s still a pretty funny time capsule if you remember this era.