American Dreamer is a hilarious dark comedy about economic inequality, starring an ensemble cast of Hollywood greats led by Peter Dinklage. In between fits of laughter, American Dreamer takes aim at some key societal problems. The mishaps of a pathetic misanthrope are emblematic of harsh realities. The current housing situation cannot be solved by owning one’s home. For something that was sensible to aspire for and accomplish, it’s unfortunately beyond reach. You might need to take extreme measures if you want a piece of the pie.
Dr Phil Loder (Dinklage), an associate professor at a college in Massachusetts, is going on about cultural and economic trends before his disinterested class. Dr Phil and all the other students expect one want nothing more than for him to stop his talk. This beautiful lady called Clare (Michelle Mylett), who has a crush on her boring tutor cannot help but listen to him attentively whenever he talks. But there is no sexual connotation in Philip’s obsession, lonely nights pass while he looks through pictures of luxury homes from his apartment’s window grills. Sometimes even parking outside big mansions just to get an idea how life could have been.
Following work, Phil races into another listing with fabulous viewings afterwards. He quickly guzzles wine and chomps down hors d’oeuvres while ridiculing the inflated price to prospective buyers. Dell (Matt Dillon), who is the estate agent responsible for selling this property doesn’t like seeing his worst customer anymore as well as listens to what Phil needs tell him that he does not see any sense in it which also means none existences in real life since it can not happen that way too.. That is not ridiculous? How can someone making less than $50K per annum afford a $10 million mansion? He lives in la-la land; according to what Dell says about Philip; he is “a dreamer, not a doer.” Lower your expectations and search for a starter one bedroom condo.
A little rummaging among the office’s condiments leads to finding something very important. A nice beachfront home is there for millions of dollars. However, the seller in this case wants $240k with one catch: she stays until death while all other expenses have to be taken care of by the new owner. Phil and Dell are stunned after seeing it first-hand. The old wheelchair-bound Astrid does not have much time left to live according to her appearance. Moving fast means that Phil will dissolve his 401K; he will dispose of everything he has and buy immediately. This is life giving him a break at long last, what could go wrong?
The film, adapted from a segment on National Public Radio’s “This American Life,” shows Phil in visual terms as being at the bottom rung of society ladder where he belongs. He parks his car in the worst spot on campus. He eats cheap ham sandwiches purchased from vending machines during lunchtime . His 80’s Saab now has more miles than NASA space shuttle ever had . Phil is completely broke… The irony is that an economics professor who should know all the ways to get rich from nothing is almost penniless. But Dell has some valid points when talking ill about Philip too because he isn’t known for giving it his all unlike others would rather weep over their fates than find another job. Drumroll please – teacher earnings are enough for mansions ownership! Damn those filthy rich people making up one percenters!
However, as American Dreamer’s second-act transition into slapstick comedy shows Dinklage doing the physical comedy thing. The catch is that Astrid is a spry octogenarian in excellent health. Their cherished home becomes a backdrop for comic disaster when Phil finds out he has been tricked. Dinklage’s accidental role as a punch bag brings down the house with laughter rings. He gets tossed around like Kevin McCallister did to the Wet Bandits in Home Alone series. The turn may seem excessively silly, but it clearly makes another important point to consider. Any too good stuff surely is not real. It is only about being read between the lines as Phil exactly acquired what he bought.
American Dreamer: Desperate Times Don’t Make for Desperate Measures
A few cheap laughs later and Paul Dektor, who also produced Netflix’s popular docuseries “How to Become a…” narrated by Dinklage takes his first feature film in a raunchy direction that even goes too far. Scoring like a basketball player does not add anything to crafted loser exposition – so therein lies the humor or so it might seem but sorry to say he doesn’t come across as an unlikely lothario type.
Phil’s hallucinations involve being married to two attractive women who bolster his delusions of grandeur. This part of the story ties in with everything else going on though. However, within this bigger picture there are moments when one can see that Phil’s absurd imagination and clear mental health issues could be put into context of striving towards something which may actually be possible.
His answer was correct even though he went through thousands of square feet during his insane search for answers about van or tent life? Is it crazy to think that any working class person can own an average sized house in America?
Danny Glover deserves praise for playing straight man bewildered by American Dreamer character properly The role where he gets stuck watching over their mad capers together with Phil. Sometimes he almost steals the show.
American Dreamer is a production of Flying Firebird, Goldenlight Films, Estuary Films and Noble600. It is available in theaters, digital and on demand through Vertical now.
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