Reviewed by Andrew Wooding

American Dreamz
Director: Paul Weitz (2006)
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Certificate:12A

Excellent stuff! An American comedy that doesn’t insult my intelligence and is still making me think days after I’ve seen it. Paul Weitz is the writer/director (he was the director of 1999’s big hit American Pie), and he has made sure that there is no artificial happy ending, no contrived love interest and no unrelated chart songs on the soundtrack.

If you like your comedy black and vicious, then this is for you. Is it an attack on terrorism? Is it a statement about the (arguably) blinkered state of US politics where image and public popularity seems more important than international policy? Is it a satire on the phenomenon of talent shows like American Idol and The X Factor, where fame (and getting your face on the telly) is everything, even if you have to manipulate and abuse others in order to achieve it? And is the film saying that the process of winning on American Idol is not much different from what you have to go through to become US President?

Hugh Grant is superb as Martin Tweed, the thoroughly unlikeable host of US talent show, American Dreamz. It takes skill to play a person with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and Hugh Grant pulls it off perfectly. His on-screen persona bears more than a passing resemblance to Simon Cowell.

Similarly, Dennis Quaid is excellent as President Staton, who, once elected into his second term of office, decides to read newspapers for the first time since becoming President (including UK’s The Guardian) and realises there is more to international affairs than what he is fed second-hand each week by his staff. One cannot help but think of President Bush in Dennis Quaid’s performace, but not necessarily in a bad way – even though President Staton is bumbling and ill-educated, he is still a decent man who is making an effort to understand more. (“Did you know there are three kinds of Iraqistanis?” he says after reading his first newspaper in years.)

As for Mandy Moore (who plays superstar wannabe Sally Kendoo), she manages to outdo Martin Tweed in the scheming, manipulative stakes, which is quite a feat. The bleak message of the film seems to be that the people who eventually succeed are the ones who are ruthless, driven and over-ambitious – those who don’t mind who they step on and hurt in order to get to the top. And Sam Golzari (as Omer) is still making me smile when I think about him. He is an American Dreamz contestant, fanatical about show tunes, wows everyone with his catchphrase (“You’ve been Omer-ised!”) – and is also secretly a terrorist whose mother was killed by an American bomb and so is given the job of blowing up the American president live on national television.

Does he succeed? You’ll have to see the film to find out, and I thoroughly recommend that you do. You’ll never be able to see TV talent shows (or presidential speeches for that matter) in the same way again. I know I won’t.

THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

Some key themes: Fame – why do people want it so much, and does it really deliver all that it promises?

“A boy became king. He had been born poor in the kingdom and had even gone to prison before becoming king. I watched all the people who live on earth follow him and make him their king. Many followed him at first, but later, they did not like him, either. So fame and power are useless, like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 4 v 14-16).

“Fame. I'm gonna make it to heaven. Light up the sky like a flame. I'm gonna live for ever. Baby remember my name.” So went the chorus of Irene Cara’s 1980s hit, Fame, the theme tune to the hit movie and TV series of the same name. Look at those words a little closer. They seem to imply that fame is everything – it’ll get you to heaven and make you live for ever. Maybe that’s why wannabes flock in their thousands to auditions for programmes like American Idol, The X Factor, Fame Academy, and want to send off audition tapes to Big Brother.

There are a number of reasons why people might want to become famous. Maybe it’s to do with having financial security or freedom to express oneself artistically, be it through acting, music, or whatever their skill might be. (I can identify with that – I would love to have more opportunities to express myself as a writer.) Or - and I suspect this is the case for many people - maybe it is to escape that feeling of insignifance; that “I am worth nothing, a nobody, but maybe if I get my face on television with everyone loving me, I can be a somebody.”

On American Dreamz we see this in action. Sally Kendoo will do anything to get herself to the top. She is a small town girl with a devoted boyfriend who truly loves her, but as soon as she hears she has been accepted as a contestant on the latest series of American Dreamz she dumps him. Maybe she believes he is now below her and that from now on she will be dating famous film stars or rich TV hosts.

But what happens when you get to the top and still don’t feel any different? The insecurities are still there, only magnified because of greater pressure to perform. The desire to be loved doesn’t go away, but now you have more money to spend on makeovers, plastic surgery, teeth jobs and even implants! How does it feel when thousands of people are commenting (often negatively) on the clothes you wear when you turn up to glitzy film premieres or press launches for your latest single? Why is it that so many famous people turn to drink or drugs – is it because they realise that fame hasn’t helped them and in some cases has made them feel worse? And what happens when the good looks fade, the latest album fails to chart, or your sporting skills disappear because of aging? What do you do then? You tasted fame, but now it’s gone, and you still have the rest of your life to live.

We read a similar story in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. An unknown with no money and a criminal record somehow achieved temporary fame and became king. He was popular for a while (which was great!), but then there was a backlash, as there almost always is. He lost his fame, power and popularity and probably ended up back where he started.

Fame is only fleeting – a temporary fix. There are many famous people I admire and I often dream about becoming a famous writer – but in the end we need to aim for things that are more meaningful and permanent. Our relationships with God, our friends and and our family, and our attitudes to injustice, poverty and ecological issues – these are what really count. And as the old saying goes: “Be careful how you treat people on the way up because they might kick you when you’re on the way down!”

Discussion questions....

· Which famous person do you admire the most, and why?

· Have you ever dreamt about appearing on programmes like Fame Academy or The X Factor? Would you ever turn up to one of the auditions, and if you did, what songs would you sing?

· As a Christian, what advice would you give to someone who’s just won Big Brother or a TV talent show?

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