Dreaming about the future is both a blessing and a curse. Minimally speaking, it’s a continuous reminder to do better with your life. But for adjunct economics professor Phil Loder (played by Peter Dinklage), dreaming about what he could have - for a long time - has actually blinded his vision. He thinks he wants a big house, a beautiful wife and bountiful money. He’ll come to learn that the journey to get there is worth much, much more than the destination. American Dreamer just so happens to be that strange and beautiful journey. Phil will get the big house he’s always dreamed of - but it also comes with an old lady.
Just like any other excursion that leads from one point to the next, there’s bound to be some bumps along the way. This same exact up-and-down concept applies to American Dreamer. The film bluntly displays Phil’s initial hallucinations of grandeur (that may dip into some troublesome icks about his psyche). Soon, there are attempts to stick some carefree bouts of slapstick humor onto the same character. These opposite ingredients are forcibly meshed together onto Phil and they never sit quite well.
Seeing Dinkler portray a man with fantasies is relatable for anybody. We all have a safe space in our mind that we run to when we need to. But when his scenes of low-brow comedy have the same level of priority as scenes that show his innermost mind’s illusions, how do audiences end up viewing the character? Some of the intended sympathy is certainly lost. The character of Phil Loder just comes off derpy, clumsy and hopeless. Even the ending of American Dreamer stumbles, becoming more of a coasting resolution than anything else.
The plot itself feels like it stops and goes at times. Dinkler’s introductory scenes as well as those where he interacts with Matt Dillon’s Dell successfully build the world of American Dreamer. The juxtaposition of Dell’s shallow success as a realtor up against Phil’s subconscious quest for soul-seeking works like a charm. The chemistry is there and the scenes are entertaining enough. While his personal life is in upheaval because of the move, viewers are also offered a glimpse into his professional career at Brockton University.
Actors Danny Pudi and Michelle Mylett also become foils for Phil. Pudi is the dean of economics while Mylett plays Clare, a thirty year old graduate student who becomes involved with Phil. These characters - feel more so like vehicles to show the main character’s plight - than they do as natural people. As much as these two names are fine in the roles they were given, you’ll soon learn why the characters weren’t needed. American Dreamer introduces a pairing to the screen that will certainly have audiences mesmerized (this is obvious from the poster).
Shirley MacLaine is Astrid, the live-in widow that Phil has to contend with. Being in the acting world for over seventy years, MacLaine is perfect at what she does and goes tit for tat with Dinklage’s own dialogue. She is a master at timing her words and it is on full display here. She brings an eccentric liveliness to the lonely woman she plays - and this subtle joyousness emanates to everyone around her. The other characters just feel more important when she’s around.
When MacLaine makes her full presence known and Astrid is in center frame talking about life and love, the audience themselves will immediately feel the weight of this movie in full. Astrid and Phil’s foe-to-friends story is the light we all need right about now. Even though Dinklage is an Emmy/Golden Globes winner, his role in this movie as a man without a cause is still very much elevated by the clarity she brings to the screen. Admittedly, the story direction does make the mistake of putting too much focus on her on-screen daughter, Maggie. Actress Kimberly Quinn gives it all that she’s got and she is more than enough for the part - but MacLaine’s charisma is very much unmatched.
Just like any person would in real life, American Dreamer tends to become distracted by shiny objects that don’t really matter. There’s a subplot involving Phil’s parking permit, Clare devolves into an angry ex-girlfriend and the cops are made out to be ignorant caricatures. Danny Glover even has a small role as a private investigator who Phil hires to investigate Maggie. When the secret behind the American dream is found within the brilliance of Peter Dinklage and Shirley MacLaine, why have the camera focused on so much else? It’s a shame that this dynamic was not unraveled more. Even so, director Paul Dektor’s black comedy has more heart and hope than it needs.
I will give American Dreamer a 3.5 / 5.
American Dreamer will be available on Digital Download starting from March 17th.
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