American Dreamer
Based on a true story from the This American Life radio show, American Dreamer follows Dr Phil Loder (Peter Dinklage), a low-level economics professor with the grand dream of becoming a homeowner. His meagre wages thwart his efforts, but salvation seemingly arrives in the form of lonely widow Astrid (Shirley MacLaine), who offers her $5 million house to him for $240,000 on the condition that he lives in a much humbler part of the house until she dies. Phil immediately jumps on this offer, selling everything he owns to get on the property ladder, but soon finds himself in much more trouble than he bargained for.
This film is, unavoidably, very focused on topics such as economics and the housing market, which aren’t the easiest things in the world to make interesting. However, while it does occasionally get caught in the weeds of its core themes, American Dreamer manages to keep things engaging throughout with its entertaining character writing and solid comedic chops, even if its momentum peters out a little in its latter half.
American Dreamer also has much to say about the titular American Dream, dissecting the conflict between its surface-level ideals and the harsh realities of the capitalist machine that governs it. These explorations can get a little long in the tooth at times, which doesn’t help the piece’s pacing issues, but they’re weaved into the story effectively enough that it doesn’t dampen the experience too much.
A big part of what makes the movie work is the stellar performances of Dinklage and MacLaine, who handle the heavy responsibility of the film’s emotional core with flair and gusto, bouncing off each other perfectly. Dinklage clearly had a lot of fun embodying the pretentious but desperate Phil, and MacLaine works excellently as a foil to him, bringing out the sincerity at the heart of Phil’s character (and the film as a whole) while also finding room to comedically humble him.
Overall, while American Dreamer has a few structural issues, there’s a lot of heart and passion on display, which goes a long way in massaging out some of its quirks. It’s perhaps a little too full of itself for its own good, but it’s self-aware about this, and audiences who are keyed into its specific brand of offbeat storytelling are in for a compellingly dense cinematic experience.
Umar Ali
American Dreamer is released digitally on demand on 17th March 2025.
Watch the trailer for American Dreamer here:
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