Review:
The television series, “American Idol”, has been
a phenomenal success for several years. This movie parodies
that show. Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) is the narcissistic,
selfish host of “American Dreamz”. Sally Kindoo
(Mandy Moore) is a contestant and is not the sweet mid-western
girl that she portrays herself to be. She will do anything,
to anyone, to win the show. Omer is a terrorist who has
been sent to America because he is totally inept. Somehow,
he also gets chosen to be a contestant on the show. Meanwhile,
the President (Dennis Quaid) wakes up one morning and reads
the papers for a change. He is astounded by the news and
the trouble all over the world. He sits in his bedroom and
reads for weeks. When he finally comes out, his advisors
want him to be a guest judge on the “American Dreamz”
show to increase his falling popularity. When Omer’s
brothers hear about this, they realize that Omer will have
the perfect opportunity to assassinate the President. Dennis
Quaid’s portrayal of the President is very funny, if
you are not a fan of George Bush. The movie is a satire
on the shallowness of our society and the lengths that people
will go to be famous. The current popularity of reality
shows and how the public judges them is scrutinized. There
is some brief strong language and several sexual references.
Sex is implied in one scene and people do die. Does the
President run the country or do his advisors? Is it ok to
humiliate contestants in front of millions of people?
Linda
Thomas is a native Minnesotan. She graduated from
the University of Minnesota with a double major
in sociology and psychology. Married with a family,
she has remained in the Minneapolis area.
Linda has been a lover of movies since she
was a small child. This love of film eventually
brought her to the point in life where she is
now, a film critic. She was featured on WCCO
radio for three years on the “Dark in the
Morning” show with Dark Star.
In December of 2001, Linda became the film
critic for the syndicated “Ruth Koscielak
Show”.
Linda sees over 150 movies a year and has
had the opportunity to interview a number of
directors and actors when they are in town.
She has also appeared on a public access show
called the "Cinema Judge" and has
ventured into writing for "Cinestar"
magazine in September 2002. The Twin Cities
movie magazine is available, for free, at most
local Blockbuster's and local movie cheaters.
As one of the few female reviewers in the Twin
Cities area, she brings a unique point of view
to her reviews. Linda has raised two children,
a boy and a girl, and knows what they like in
movies and what is appropriate. Hopefully, her
reviews will help your family in choosing where
to next spend your movie-going dollar.
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Linda
Thomas is a native Minnesotan. She graduated from
the University of Minnesota with a double major
in sociology and psychology. Married with a family,
she has remained in the Minneapolis area.
