American Dreamer
Directed by Paul Dektor
Written by Theodore Melfi and Christopher Wehner
Starring Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, & Matt Dillon
Rated R
Runtime: 1 hour and 38 minutes
Released on digital platforms on 17 March

by Carmen Paddock, Staff Writer

Paul Dektor’s latest film, American Dreamer, plays on the pernicious and destructive concept at the heart of the United States’ history. Few notions have driven people to greatness, madness, and despair to the degree that the idea of the “American Dream” has done. For some, it spells exceptionalism and egotism; for others, it is the promise of a better world for all, and for one’s self if they can just tap into their drive, luck, and charm. Was not the United States built by meritocratic dreamers looking for an alternative to old, aristocratic Europe?

Dr. Phil Loder (Peter Dinklage) is an adjunct professor of economics whose unglamorous days spent drilling money’s omnipresence in human society into the heads of a still-hopeful younger generation adds extra poison to the reality of his living situation. Despite his skill as a teacher and clear, respected knowledge of his field – even if the college’s Dean (Danny Pudi) cannot find time to read his manuscript – he is unable himself to get on the property ladder. His realtor friend Dell (Matt Dillon) tells him he is aiming too high and to settle for less. Phil thinks his persistence is validated when an offer too good to be true lands in his lap: Astrid (Shirley MacLaine), a widow living alone, has offered her $5 million mansion for $240,000 in cash provided she can live out the rest of her days there. Phil liquidates every spare asset and savings pot he has to pay her, but worries that her children – who are always around – will contest the will when it comes time to inherit. Against this growing paranoia, Phil finds himself drawn to Astrid’s daughter Maggie (Kim Quinn), into a relationship with graduate student Clare (Michell Mylett), and into increasingly precarious scenarios with an ageing and ailing Astrid. He even hires a private detective (Danny Glover) to find any compromising information that can secure his hold on the house.

Based on a true story, American Dreamer does not strain credulity despite the extreme actions of its characters, but it certainly strains patience. The script, by Theodore Melfi and Christopher Wehner, moves frantically from scenario to scenario, relishing the cringe, awkward, and unpleasant as each new obstacle or interaction is set up. It is hard to tell whether the situations are meant to humanise or humiliate the characters. The continuing and escalating threat of Astrid’s failing health and Phil’s proximity to her during this time is confusingly played neither for pathos or for its dark slapstick potential where the comedy and sympathy remain with the characters. Instead, these instances feel like increasingly mean cosmic jokes at the characters’ expense.

Dinklage’s talent for the witty, intelligent, and bored seems an ideal fit for Phil, but the character’s cynicism is overwritten to the point that very little of the heart that characterises Dinklage’s best performances in Game of Thrones (correctly lauded with several awards) and the luminous, under-seen film musical Cyrano is able to come through. The supporting cast, full of talent, charm, and old Hollywood glamour, is equally unable to elevate the material. MacLaine, while magnificent in presence, gets few notes to play aside from eccentricity, and Mylett – a captivating comic actress across twelve seasons of the Canadian sitcom Letterkenny – is given no interiority that might motivate the twists that emerge later in the plot. Dillon perhaps acquits himself best with his material – mainly because his one-note character demands little sympathy, giving his charm free reign.

Like the American Dream itself, American Dreamer is a highly imperfect film that is hard to love, despite the good will engendered by its cast and relatable scenario. Without the excellent performances, despite heavy hampering from the script, providing some heart and value for those seeking to complete these actors’ oeuvres, there is little to recommend its journey into the harsh economic (im)possibilities of home ownership.

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