AMERICAN DREAMER (2022) - Movie Review

Director: Paul Dektor
Starring: Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, Matt Dillon, Kimberly Quinn, Danny Pudi, Danny Glover, Michelle Mylett
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Theodore Melfi, Christopher Wehner
Runtime: 98 min
Rated: R for disturbing material, violence, some strong sexual content, pervasive language, and drug use.
Buy This Movie: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

American Dreamer, based on a true story from Chicago Public Radio's This American Life, is the story of Phil Loder (Peter Dinklage), a twice-divorced, frustrated, underpaid professor of economics, whose grand dream of home ownership is tragically out of reach. When an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes his way, Phil strikes a deal with Astrid Finnelli (Shirley MacLaine), a lonely, childless, near-death widow who offers her sprawling estate for pennies. But Phil quickly learns the deal is too good to be true and the American dream is not quite what it used to be.

Review:

Buying a house is such a horrible ordeal that there's an entire subgenre of movies dedicated to it, of which I mention "The Money Pit", "Funny Farm", "Duplex" and "Pacific Heights". Except for that last one, which is a thriller, this particular subgenre is mostly geared towards comedy. So naturally, about half-way through "American Dreamer", I thought I was going to peg it as yet another black comedy about the perils of homeowning. Thankfully, the movie proved me wrong and completely caught me off guard.

I think it's safe to say that Peter Dinklage is now getting typecast in movies as the drunkard intellectual. "Game of Thrones" propelled him to fame, but maybe did him a disservice in the long run. Nevertheless, he's great, and it's honestly his best performance since 2003's "The Station Agent". His character, Phil Loder, is a hopeless dreamer to the point of being dissociated from reality, who ends up in an American nightmare and at least 80% of this movie is watching Loder's life go down the drain. And it's somehow not as depressing as it sounds. While Phil does have a sharp tongue and can sometimes come off as obnoxious, he's not an unlikeable guy, and that's really the magic trick this movie performs.

Shirley MacLaine, who was around 87 years old when she made this, is still a remarkable screen presence, and makes a great curmudgeonly duo with Dinklage. Their relationship evolves in unexpected ways giving the movie a powerful emotional core, and is also the source of the film's best comedy scenes. Matt Dillon as Phil's hotshot real estate agent and Danny Glover as a bumbling, senile private detective are also a lot of fun and make their characters stand out.

I honestly was suprised at how smoothly this movie unfolds. Despite being a dark comedy with some social commentary thrown in, it's a lot more lighthearted than I expected. The script has a penchant for the absurd and plenty of wit, and despite its edgy humor it still has the ability to muster ungodly levels of optimism and feel-goodness without appealing to cloying sentimentality. That's a rare balance to pull off. It's not always consistent in tone, but despite some flaws here and there, it's an overall engaging contemporary fable with great performances and an interesting story to tell.

SCORE: 8/10