Critic Reviews
American Dreamz (2006) Rank 2 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (219) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Poor
0
(0)
Reviews by Score:
The Onion A.V. Club
MovieEye.com (Frank Ochieng)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Las Vegas Weekly (Matthew Scott Hunter)
As in all good satires, the characters stay true to their personalities to the very end. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Matthew Scott Hunter)
Jam! Movies (Louis B. Hobson)
It may be seriously flawed, but American Dreamz is still amusing and pleasantly subversive. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Jam! Movies (Louis B. Hobson)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Perhaps because both elements are such ultra-easy targets for satire, the film works only about half the time. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
GCM Planet (Rory L. Aronsky)
Weitz misses out on a lot. A satire is only as good as the biting humor that's built for it and he only shows strength in certain points he makes underneath everything. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at GCM Planet (Rory L. Aronsky)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
This is a heady mix, but it sounds funnier than it plays, because it needed a Billy Wilder level of cynicism, and Weitz doesn't have anything like that. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
American Dreamz , Paul Weitz's good-natured satire of pop, politics and our bloated sense of entitlement (arguably our biggest export) lampoons the great American disconnect from reality by locating the place where all these things intersect. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)
Xi-online (Sharon Amo-adjei)
Boxoffice Magazine
Cineclub-Filmkritik
Pop Entertainment.com
The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Globe and Mail (Stephen Cole)
A random episode of American Idol offers more comedy and drama, not to mention more disturbing insights into contemporary popular culture, than American Dreamz . ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Globe and Mail (Stephen Cole)
Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
Viewers are left with nearly two hours of dull, rather obvious gags. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
The King's Room (Clyde Ayles)
Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)
American Dreamz is often a lot of fun, thanks to Weitz's cast. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)
Tail Slate (Douglas Strassler)
Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
You won't know whether or not to recommend it to your friends. They'll ask you if it was good or bad, and you'll only be able to respond with "yes." ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
Los Angeles Daily News (Bob Strauss)
Much like I feel in the voting booth every four years, the political satire American Dreamz rendered me frustrated and confused. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Bob Strauss)
Newsday (Gene Seymour)
Everybody's so good, you find yourself wondering why the movie isn't funnier -- or riskier. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Newsday (Gene Seymour)
Kalamazoo Gazette (James Sanford)
has as much acidic bite as a marshmallow sundae. ...It beats a drum, turns on a neon sign, demands your attention and then forgets what it wanted to say in the first place. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Kalamazoo Gazette (James Sanford)
Contra Costa Times (Randy Myers)
Dreamz is amusing enough; but be prepared for comedy that's more crass than class. If you want refinement, see the more clever Thank You for Smoking . ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Contra Costa Times (Randy Myers)
Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)
The sheer audacity...is admirable, and often times very funny. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)
Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
Weitz suffers what can only be called a failure of will. He backs off when he should be bearing down. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Paul Weitz's satirical farce gets the details right while missing the big picture. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
American Dreamz has plenty of laughs. You’ll leave the theater feeling not outraged but actually rather cheerful. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
This isn't a black comedy -- it's more like a whiter shade of pale. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
The plot of the movie involves a group of characters all involved with the television show American Dreamz, which is a not very disguised takeoff on American Idol, complete with smarmy and insulting British Host. Instead of Simon ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Austin Chronicle (Marrit Ingman)
Weitz Brothers, Weitz Brothers, Weitz Brothers. Paul and Chris, you did your thing, dawgs. You made it to Hollywood (Chuck & Buck), you made your money (American Pie), made some art (About a Boy), and then you got ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marrit Ingman)
Empire Magazine [UK]
A misstep for Weitz, who's better with emotion than venom, but still shows flashes of his knack for comic subtlety. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]
FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
When Hugh Grant first took on the devilish but charming bad-guy thing, it was a revelation - no more foppish emotional cripples - and a much-needed avoidance of typecasting. But that was five years ago, in Bridget Jones's Diary, and, ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
The Independent (Anthony Quinn)
The film takes on more than it knows how to handle, and what starts out as a
standard poke-in-the-eye of TV switches its satiric focus to the
incompetence of terrorists and politicians, the heartlessness of celebs, and
even the mess of ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at The Independent (Anthony Quinn)
MovieWeb (Dodd Alley)
In the past few years, American Pie director Paul Weitz has stepped up in the comedy world. After handling the teen sex comedy with perfection, he ventured into the realm of sophisticated humor with About a Boy and In Good ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at MovieWeb (Dodd Alley)
filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
There’s a peculiarly painful sensation one gets when witnessing a comedy build toward its big moment, having carefully laid all out all the correct elements and primed you for all the gags as it leads up to the orchestrated finale and then… ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
American Idol fans, rejoice. The reality-based songfest gets the melodramatic once-over in this wildly flailing spoof that takes comedy to inexplicable heights. Hugh Grant puts a sleazy spin on ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
In Film Australia (Gavin Bond)
Tail Slate (Douglas Strassler)
The King's Room (Clyde Ayles)
Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
A broad-based lampoon that envelops too much material and tries far too hard to please. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Hollywood.com (Kit Bowen)
OK, so American Dreamz tries a little too hard to be satirically witty and bitingly political. But, darn it, it still makes you laugh in spite of yourself. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Hollywood.com (Kit Bowen)
Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
In American Dreamz , the people are stereotypes, and the context is fake: It's broad, it's thin, it's a big easy target. And ultimately, its dreamz are hollow. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
Empire Magazine (--)
For all its misguided qualities, the movie is at least perfectly cast. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Empire Magazine (--)
Wanniski.com (Matthew Wanniski)
A satire that hits all the wrong notes -- the joke is on us, the movie-going public. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Wanniski.com (Matthew Wanniski)
Jam! Movies (Steve Tilley)
American Dreamz puts reality TV and U.S. politics in its crosshairs, then fails to pull the trigger. It's less entertaining than an average episode of American Idol . And that's saying something. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Jam! Movies (Steve Tilley)
New York Times (Manohla Dargis)
Paul Weitz's film is a seriously unfunny comedy about that intersection where politics meets entertainment. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at New York Times (Manohla Dargis)
ShowBIZ Data (--)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
There's some color and variety here but not much by way of teeth and bite, and it quickly becomes clear that the movie's social targets (a shopping list of political and cultural ills) are going to be broad and easy ones. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)
Is the current President of the United States sensible and aware? No, and it's painful! Is he fun to mock and parody? Of course! ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)
filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
It's not really a cynical or outrageous point of view, but just a really lazy one, and offensively, exploitatively so. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)
American Dreamz isn't mean enough or funny enough. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)
CHUD (Devin Faraci)
What if they threw a satire and no jokes came? This is the question American Dreamz answers in its interminable running time. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Carol Cling)
... goes after its targets like a clueless klutz oblivious to the fact that the ticking bomb he's carrying is about to blow up in his face. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Las Vegas Review-Journal (Carol Cling)
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
'AMERICAN Idol" and President Bush have few reasons to worry about Paul Weitz's "American Dreamz," a cartoonish, unfocused and mostly unfunny satire that doesn't come within a hundred miles of hitting its two main ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
It has been four years since President Joe Staton (Denis Quaid)
had last even picked up a newspaper, never mind read it. Now, on the morning
following his landslide reelection, he breaks long-standing precedent, orders
a New York Times and is ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (Mark Pfeiffer)
There's the seed of a good satire in American Dreamz , but the film flops spectacularly due to a poorly written screenplay. ...read the complete American Dreamz movie review at Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (Mark Pfeiffer)
User Reviews
by Genevieve Hayes on June 15, 2008
"American Dreamz" is a black-comedy/satire about an unwilling Middle Eastern terrorist who is called on to murder the U.S. President when he becomes a contestant on "American Dreamz", and "American Idol"-esque talent show.
When "American Dreamz" was on ...
by Kevin Killian on July 28, 2007
You know what, maybe it isn't a five start movie after all, but you know how it is when you go into a show having heard it's the worst comedy ever made and little by little it dawns on you, hey, this show ain't so bad after all? So maybe you tend to ...
by Alvin L. Gorgita ... on June 01, 2007
In a nutshell, A President is faced with falling numbers, his approval rating is severely LOW. What to do? Appear on the #1 Rated Show in America, "American Dreams" -- For anyone who saw the movie a few months back, and then watched Bush only weeks ago ...
by Matthew G. Sherwi... on April 01, 2007
American Dreamz involves a collision between an uneducated and ineffectual president (played by Dennis Quaid who is made up to resemble current president Bush) and the Hollywood entertainment industry with a show run by the fabulously wealthy, shallow ...
by NovelReader on February 28, 2007
This movie was promoted as a satire on American Idol and President Bush, but I don't really think it really is a satire. Its portrayal of the President is both comic and sympathetic, as is its portrayal of the American Idol contestants. So because it's ...
by Stephen End "Disa... on January 09, 2007
You need to see this movie. I have watched it three times and enjoy it each and every time. It' s American Idol meets Terrorist with a conscience. ...
by Carol Cox "carol0... on December 04, 2006
This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a while. I did not think it was going to be good but decided to rent it one night. I laughed the entire way through. The political humor ties in nicely to the satire on our celebrity-obsessed culture. ...
by Joel Cohen on November 03, 2006
Well, this evening I watched the film on DVD, found it excellent, then turned to the Amazon reader reviews to see what others ...
by Kathleen Donaldso... on October 29, 2006
An absoultey biting, cruel satire on the America of today, "American Dreamz" is the funniest film I've seen this year. It revolves around an America similar to today. One obsessed with lame reality television, celebrity and pop culture. Because of these ...
by Nicole Bradshaw "... on February 05, 2008
A hilarious send-up of politics, reality TV, pop-culture marketing, and the image of America, this movie is not to be missed.
The movie opens, oddly enough, on a Taliban training camp. Robed terrorists are going through their paces as another man films ...
User Comments
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! My Web
Facebook
Google Bookmarks
ma.gnolia
Newsvine
reddit
Windows Live
