American Dreamz

Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Martin Tweed, the greedy, self-despising producer and host of AMERICAN DREAMZ, an AMERICAN IDOL-like television program that chooses contestants more on the basis of their ratings potential than genuine talent. Unapologetic and calculated, Tweed recognizes something of himself in Ohio-bred, ruthlessly conniving contestant Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore). Dennis Quaid plays a pajama-clad President Staton, a character clearly modeled after George W. Bush. After taking a sudden interest in reading the newspaper, Staton grows confused and troubled by what he learns about his country and its international affairs. With the president refusing to leave his bedroom for weeks, the first lady (Marcia Gay Harden) and the Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) grow increasingly worried. Fearful that the president's laziness and newfound political awareness will cost him points in the public eye, the two orchestrate a plan that involves force-feeding him antidepressants and scheduling him for a spot as a guest judge on the finale of AMERICAN DREAMZ. Meanwhile, a terrorist plot unfolds, involving a planned assassination by another one of the show's contestants, the Broadway-dancing, theatre-loving Omer (Sam Golzari). (official distributor synopsis)