Leila Cherradi I just saw this movie now, in 2015. And it is really scary to know that we already knew this much about the world and that up to now the same problems are here.I agree that this movie in its form has flaws. It is very clear that something went missing between scenes, or the scenes were not explored deep enough, or there were too many plots, or the direction was not strong enough, or the humor was too lousy... BUT underlying it there's a real clear view of the state of our world, and that's why I am really glad to have seen this movie.One of the best lines of the movie is when the president finally gets rid of his earplug and speaks for himself and says : "And I just want to say, in terms of the Middle East, that it looks like the problems over there are never gonna be solved. I mean never. Never never never never never. And so I'm sorry about that."

Dr_Sagan This is an attempt for a multi-satire. And by that I mean a satire with far too many recipients to be really effective in any of them.This movie tries to ...hmm...well...let's count: The dream of regular people that want basically to be famous and treated as such. Their mothers who want their children to succeed where themselves failed. The myth (?) of one true love. How ruthless can you be with other people feelings. The need for (any) heroes. The government, the POTUS and how they operate. The Jihadists who might be more into the American culture than they can admit. The long lasted public figures who are sick of themselves etc. etc. etc.The movie as an entertainment is so-so. The cast is good and it delivers some good performances but something is missing to glue them all together. A couple of scenes are funny but i personally got a sad feeling watching this movie. Especially because of the ending which I obviously won't spoil.Overall: Even if you have a couple of hours to spend I wouldn't recommended it. It's not bad but seems more like a hit and miss.

gregeichelberger Originally published on Aril 18, 2006.The stunningly successful TV show, "American Idol," is ripe for parody and, finally, Hollywood has come around and satirized it (although) whether it's really funny is up to you the viewer. I thought it had its moments, but overall fell a bit short.Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) is the upper class, acerbic twit host of the nation's most popular show, "American Dreamz" (with a "Z"), which clobbers the competition and weekly draws more voters than presidential elections.Everyone seems to watch the program, even those residing in a small terrorist camp on the Afghanistan-Iraq border.Seeing this worldwide opportunity, a Dick Cheney-like vice-president, Sutter (Willem DeFoe), convinces the dimwitted Chief Executive, Pres. Joe Staton (a totally transparent G.W. Bush clone, played by a spaced-out Dennis Quaid), to appear as a guest judge on the season finale of the show to boost his sagging poll numbers (despite the fact he was recently re-elected).The Prez is so stupid, he doesn't know what a newspaper is, and needs cartoons as visual aids in his daily briefings. He also has to have DeFoe speak for him through a hearing aid/microphone contraption.Yeah, thanks Hollywood. We get that Quaid is supposed to represent a Bush-like figure and that Bush is supposed to be stupid in the minds of many celebrity liberals. Thanks for the subtlety.Meanwhile, blonde sweetheart, Sally Kandoo (Mandy Moore), from Ohio, dreams of winning the contest, no matter who gets hurt; as does rich, gay Iraqi-American, Iqubal (Tony Yalda), but his terrorist cousin, Omer (Sam Golzari), is somehow chosen instead.The show sequences feature the typical Idol contestant: a gay Clay Aiken character, a bald white dude, a black woman with a big voice and a bad hairdo, a long-haired rocker, and an Orthodox Jew. Okay, the last one isn't exactly typical, but played by Adam Busch (TV series "House"), he's hilarious.Grant gets to play the Simon Cowell character and insult most of these singers (although we don't really get to see enough of that). Most of the plot revolves around Sally, her pushy stage mother, Martha (Jennifer Collige, "Waiting For Gufman," "Best Of Show," "Date Movie"), puppy dog boyfriend, William Williams (Chris Klein, "American Pie," "We Were Soldiers"), and sleazy agent (Seth Meyers, a cast member of "Saturday Night Live").Subplot has goofy terrorist cell member Omer winning week after week with his bad singing and over-the-top dancing (taught to him by Iqubal), until he reaches the finals. He's then recruited to blow up himself and the President on live television.Conclusion has everything going array, but the show getting even higher ratings because of the total breakdown. It's a decent parody of the genre, which has become even more popular in real life. Stupid film has enough laughs (mostly through pokes at "Idol," the War on Terror, George W. Bush and other current pop culture icons) to keep some viewers lightly entertained throughout much of its one hour, 45 minute running time.Especially funny are the scenes where the lisping, prancing Iqubal turns his cousin into an American celebrity, who "Omerizes" the nation.

Chrysanthepop Against good advice I decided to watch 'American Dreamz'. The fact that Dennis Quaid is playing president and that Hugh Grant is in it should have been reason enough to avoid this. But the reality show spoof concept and the supposed satire angle got me interested. Moreover I had read Ben Elton's 'Chart Throb' (that came out the same year) which also revolves around the behind the scenes of a song contest reality show and it's one of the funniest books I have ever read. So 'American Dreamz' couldn't be that bad now can it? In all fairness, with the exception of the terrorist angle, it is quite funny in the beginning. It could have been more amusing but nonetheless I laughed a little. Then somewhere before the second half it heads downhill not standing any chance for recovery. The movie felt very rushed. The whole terrorist angle felt out of place and clichéd. There's also a boring preachy 'patriotic' sequence. Mandy Moore is adequate. Willem Dafoe, Judy Greer, John Cho, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Marcia Gay Harden are first rate (but every one of them have tiny roles). Hugh Grant is irritating as usual. Dennis Quaid is passable. And, 'American Dreamz' is forgettable.