American Dreamz
When a Stranger Calls
American Dreamz
The problem with this American political satire is that it won't start a discussion among viewers much less offend anyone. It's not the acting or the casting that's at fault here. The movie just has a bland narrative and an absence of hardcore wit. Dennis Quaid portrays a spineless American president that becomes very sad when he, for the first time ever, reads a newspaper and finds out that the world looks entirely different than the weekly White House briefings have led him to believe. Willem Dafoe is the nasty presidential adviser/puppeteer that equips his president with an earpiece so he can feed the powerful man his lines. Mandy Moore is the bitchy talent show contestant and Chris Klein is her gullible war-veteran boyfriend whom she dumps, but then takes back when she realizes what a great commercial trick their relationship will be. And then there is the Al Qaeda member that gets ordered to blow up the president but really wants to sing and dance. When you target President Bush, Dick Cheney, Iraq-war veterans, Al Qaeda and "American Idol," you really need to be razor-sharp to set yourself aside from the numerous of other satires that have been done on these subjects. "American Dreamz" is neither sharp nor particularly clever in its critique. And the spot-on jokes essential to good satire, the icy, penetrating ones that will make you laugh while you really want to cry - well, there aren't any here.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
"American Dreamz" is an immensely popular television show hosted by Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), who proudly boasts that it reaches every demographic in the U.S. While Tweed is busily preparing for the eagerly-awaited new series, recently re-elected President Staton (Dennis Quaid) is having a personal crisis after realizing that the world isn't quite as black-and-white as he previously believed. Staton is a crude parody of George W. Bush, albeit with a more sensitive side. The president's senior advisor persuades him to appear on "American Dreamz" as a guest judge to dispel public rumors that he has lost his mind. The main contestants in the show are Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), an utterly cynical young woman who is so desperate for fame that she will stoop to anything to get it. She's up against Omar Obeidi (Sam Golzari), whose conscience is torn between his genuine love of show tunes and his mission from Al Qaeda to sneak a bomb into the show and blow himself and the president up. "American Dreamz" is far from subtle, but then neither is the culture it is satirizing. It's more a case of an "eye for an eye," or, maybe, a "sledgehammer for a sledgehammer." Still, it's nonetheless a very welcome film in my view. It shows the absolute vacuity underlying both popular entertainment and populist politics and how both are stage-managed to disturbingly redundant effect. The cast is excellent, especially Grant, who exudes self-disgust with every flash of his teeth, and there are some extremely funny moments. In the end though, it's more like a custard pie in America's face rather than a painful red, white and blue slap across the cheeks.
( Tim Ochser )
When a Stranger Calls
Jill (Camilla Belle) is babysitting in a remote house. She gets some creepy phone calls from a stranger who then proceeds to chase her around to get "her blood all over him." "When a Stranger Calls" plays like an endlessly stretched out version of the first scene of "Scream": "Hello?" (heavy breathing) "Who is this?" (heavy breathing) "Please don't call again!" (heavy breathing) "I can hear you breathing!" (heavy breathing). This movie is monotonous and formulaic and the scares are amazingly predictable. The musical score is quite extraordinary in its own way. The menacingly spooky music plays from frame one and never stops 's ever. It's incredibly out of place in the scenes where nothing remotely threatening is going on, and when things do start to become "scary" (I put this in quotations, because this movie is by definition not scary) you are so sick and tired of the music you wish they would run the rest of the movie silent. And, oh my, the characters. When Jill's blond, drinking, boyfriend-stealing girlfriend enters the scene your first and only thought 's knowing the formula of these teenage horror flicks 's is "Oh boy, is she gonna get it!" And she does get it. Our heroine is a non-drinking, Bambi-eyed gal, so she will live. She does, however, have her breasts tugged into a shirt that is slightly too tight, so the killer has to scare her for a while before she is allowed to get away.
( Julie Vinten )
Another week, another 1970s film remake. "When a Stranger Calls" might have been scary back in 1979 but that was when the teen horror genre was still relatively new. Twenty seven years later and this sort of film has been well and truly done to death. Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) goes to baby-sit for a wealthy couple one evening in their spectacularly beautiful secluded house. She starts receiving menacing phone calls from a stranger who turns out to be lurking somewhere in the house with her. Even by the standards of the average teen horror flick, "When a Stranger Calls" is mind-bogglingly bad. Despite plenty of screeching violins and tinkling pianos, the suspense is about as taut as waiting for a bus. But at least the bus has the bonus of having a purpose when it finally arrives. After watching this film you somehow get the feeling that your whole life has just regressed. "Scream" condensed this entire picture into its opening 10 minutes and did so with a knowing wink. "When a Stranger Calls," on the other hand, is formulaic right down to the heroine's bust size and hairstyle. Sickening for all the wrong reasons.
( Tim Ochser )
