Very loosely adapted from real events, American Dreamer attempts a delicate balance of dark humor and deep heart. It doesn’t always succeed in this effort, but what works about it works exceptionally well, because it is very funny very often.
Peter Dinklage is one of my favorite working actors, and it’s truly a joy to see him as another layered, lovable misanthrope, the type of character he’s played with some regularity since the conclusion of his iconic work on Game of Thrones. Dr. Phil Loder (Dinklage) is a professor of economics who is nowhere near as economically stable as his colleagues. His assigned parking spots at work and at the run-down apartment building he lives in are both right next to dumpsters. He typically tells his students satirically honest truths about the decline of economic well-being for the middle class, his rants fueled by personal frustration. When Phil finds a classified ad for a too-good-to-be-true housing situation, he enlists the help of his real estate agent and drinking buddy Dell (Matt Dillon) to investigate.
What they find is a wealthy elderly widow named Astrid (Shirley MacLaine) who has offered her million-dollar mansion for just $240,000. The catch: the new owner must live in the guest suite, presumably until Astrid passes away. Phil sells nearly everything he owns in order to pay in full. He seems to be in the clear until Astrid’s children enter the picture.
As entertaining as some of the slapstick Phil gets involved in from this point on is, it speaks to a disorganization about the film in general. There is a crucial subplot that seems underdeveloped at the very least. Uncluttering some of the material surrounding said subplot would have given us a lot more clarity on a particular issue, and not left us in the lurch until the end on that front, an ending which should have a little more bite given what is revealed. Director Paul Dektor was very bold and ambitious in his effort to balance contrasting tones while also delivering necessary plot information, but the film’s second half definitely loses some of the focus and zing of its first.
In any event, Theodore Melfi’s script keeps throwing out fantastic one-liners, many of which Dinklage, MacLaine, and the rest of the ensemble wisely underplay. We also reach inside Phil’s fantasies quite often, most of which involve women, relaxation, and drinking while surrounded by beautiful scenery. Dektor and his crew do a nice job of moving to these dreams subtly, never breaking the pacing or tone of any particular scene. They’re also not overused, so they don’t conflict too aggressively with the overall darker comedic tone of the film.
The true story is also pretty interesting, but to adapt it verbatim would likely give us an entirely different film. Apparently the real person who took the real offer ended up living in the house for fifteen years. That may have been Phil’s intention, but fate throws him several curveballs. These developments are part of what gives the film its satirical bite. American Dreamer is a movie that draws laughs adjacent to a topic which isn’t very funny at all — the fact that many Americans are being priced out of the housing market and have been for some time — and regularly does it quite charmingly. | George Napper
The St. Louis International Film Festival 2023 continues through Nov. 19. Single film tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with valid current photo IDs. Further information is available here.
