Mandy Moore Effect: Movies

Tagline: "Imagine a country where the President never reads the newspaper, where the government goes to war for all the wrong reasons, and more people vote for a pop idol than their next President."

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION RELEASED BY UNIVERSAL: On the morning of his re-election, the President (Quaid) decides to read the newspaper for the first time in four years. This starts him down a slippery slope. He begins reading obsessively, reexamining his black and white view of the world, holing up in his bedroom in his pajamas. Frightened by the President's apparent nervous breakdown, his Chief of Staff (Dafoe) pushes him back into the spotlight, booking him as a guest judge on the television ratings juggernaut (and the President's personal fave), the weekly talent show American Dreamz. America can't seem to get enough of American Dreamz, hosted by self-aggrandizing, self-loathing Martin Tweed (Grant), ever on the lookout for the next insta-celebrity. His latest crop of hopefuls includes Sally (Moore), a conniving steel magnolia with a devoted, dopey veteran boyfriend (Klein), and Omer, a recent Southern Californian immigrant (who just happens to be a bumbling, show tune singing, would-be terrorist awaiting activation). When both Sally and Omer make it to the final round of Dreamz-where the President will be judging along with Tweed-the stage is set for a show the nation will never forget.

PLOT DESCRIPTION: Paul Weitz ("American Pie," "In Good Company") creates a satire on American politics and show business based on the television show "American Dreamz" in which Hugh Grant plays a British TV personality and Dennis Quaid plays an American President in the middle of a nervous breakdown.

American Dreamz Review: Mandy Moore finally returned to the big screen in 2006, portraying Sally Kendoo, an ambitious, but manipulative new contestant on the hit television show American Dreamz. The movie attempts to model itself after the real life hit TV show American Idol, but you can’t come into the film with an expectation of it actually portraying the gruesome details of singers trying to become stars. Even a hit television show like American Idol doesn’t have that much backstabbing and manipulation by contestants as portrayed in American Dreamz.

Dennis Quaid’s character, President Stanton is a direct parody of the current president responsible for the war in Iraq, George W. Bush, and his mannerisms are embellished a bit by Quaid for comedic relief and of course, I couldn’t help but snicker while watching Quaid act stupid (the placebo scene comes to mind). Apparently, the President is clueless towards the moves he and his administration makes, including war in the Middle East, because he has a Chief of Staff member that constantly tells him what to do. This leads to a motivation and creates the plotline of the film: Omer’s sudden change of heart not to sabotage the competition by bombing the President, which seems preposterous in itself.

Then, there’s the most complicated character, Martin Tweed, the host of American Dreamz. He’s the Simon Cowell of American Dreamz, but he runs the show himself. That causes Martin is become a bit narcissist with a hint of cynicism in front of his façade. It all adds up to a fun and humorous movie in which you will have to suspend all disbelief that:

1. The president would have time to watch a show like American Dreamz let alone appear in it
2. Arab terrorists would even acknowledge American TV programming
3. American Dreamz is judged by one person

The list goes on and on, but the biggest problem with this movie is its similarity to American Idol. Why watch a parody of the show when you could just watch the real thing? As I watched the competition on American Dreamz, I realized everything I watching was fake. A movie like this belongs on Saturday Night Live or MadTV. Also, it seems the movie would only interest those already familiar with the show. However, the show did manage to create a rooting interest, one that had nothing to do with how well they sing.

Despite the star power of the movie, names like Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Chris Klein, and William Defoe, the movie barely made a splash at the box office. You have to wonder if Universal Pictures’s decision to release the movie in a limited number of theaters had anything to do with the small target demographic.

I did like the diverse cast featured in the movie. It introduced some new talent: John Cho, Sam Golzari, and Noureen DeWulf and it put some variety into the movie, even if Omer’s character is a bit stereotypical. Also, I believe the producer over-homosexualized Iqbal Riza (Omer’s gay cousin) a little. I get that this is a parody, but still, his character seemed very distracting.

Mandy Moore gave a convincing performance of the manipulative, but often nervous, anxious and frantic Sally Kendoo. Her ambition to be on TV, not to be a singer, but a star was obvious foreshadowing of her connection with Martin Tweed and why Martin was so drawn to her. Sally had deeply conflicted feelings about winning the competition by using her boyfriend as a prop. It gives a human side to the villain which allows the viewer to possibly sympathize with her. Mandy’s screentime with Hugh Grant also shined because of the common ground that they establish when they first see each other at Sally’s house. Her performances up on stage showed that Mandy is due for a new album and that director Paul Weitz made a good choice when casting an actress with a strong musical and acting background. Sally’s opponent Omer is a bit of a different story. The movie introduces Omer as a member of a terrorist group. Omer’s motivation stems from an American bomb that killed his mother when he was young. But that doesn’t stop him from altering the terrorist’s plans by changing his mind during the show’s season finale. It creates a nice moment at the end, but it could have been so much more.

Instead, we get an oversimplification of problems thanks to a clueless President and an equally dumb Chief of Staff. If my President were really as dumb as Quaid’s character, I’d be very scared. Even Bush has his moments. So Dennis Quaid’s little message to the suicidal William Williams (Sally’s boyfriend) are more hilarious than believable and is hard to take seriously. At least it set up the surprise ending.

All signs pointed to Omer winning. It would be a moment of redemption for even thinking of sabotaging our great nation. Instead the moment went to William Williams. Distraught over Sally and Martin’s extracurricular activities, Williams threatens to kill himself with the bomb meant for the President that he found in a trash can. Not only does he start singing, but he’s good enough and people sympathize with him enough for him to win the competition! But not before blowing up himself and the cameraman Martin Tweed in the process. If the plot seems a bit crazy to you, just watch the movie yourself and see if you can avoid laughing at the twist.

The movie had its high points and I actually enjoyed watching the movie. Sometimes reviewing a movie might make it seem worse than it is, but if you’re looking for entertainment mixed with some humor and a little bit of drama, then American Dreamz would make a good choice for a movie night. You’ll see strong performances from Mandy Moore and Hugh Grant as well as some talent from the diverse cast, but just don’t believe anything you see. This is not American Idol.

Grade: C+

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the movie as well as this review and other reviews you may have seen.

Movie Notes

Movie is an adaptation of the American television phenomenon American Idol

Movie was released in 1500 theaters, lower than the normal amount.

Grossed $3.6 million in its first weekend

Official Movie Premiere on April 11, 2006 was a day after Mandy's 22nd birthday

Mandy's first released movie in about 2 years. The last one was Saved! in 2004.

Mandy Moore was director Paul Weitz's first and only choice for Sally Kendoo.