In actuality, it’s not really any of those factors; I think this a film that simply fails to live up to it’s potential. This may like an odd thing to say about the “American Pie” team, but at this point in their careers, Weitz and his brother/producer Chris have developed a reputation for making smart, emotionally complex comedies. Their rendition of the wickedly funny Nick Hornby novel “About a Boy” is thematically spot-on, if not entirely faithful to the plot of the book. (Although one could argue that their film is no less textually accurate than any other Hornby adaptation.)
Additionally, their original work “In Good Company” is similarly dense, painted with broad strokes of humor, and flavored with subtle dashes of quiet emotion. Even the “Pie” films, with their “nouveau-Porky’s” reputation, are cleverer than many viewers may realize. Given their track record, perhaps it was unavoidable that a disappointment would come along. And, as a film that attempts to simultaneously satirize the current U.S. government, reality television, Jihadist terrorists, and the American obsession with fame and celebrity, it kind of makes sense that this was the film that got away from them.
This is a movie that attempts to comment on so many subjects, that all of them seem a little short-handed. In particular, the satires of the Bush administration and “American Idol” border on allegory. Dennis Quaid’s President Staton is so like Bush point for point, that it’s as if someone took a script of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s “That’s My Bush!” show, and simply changed names. The same can be said of Marcia Gay Harden as the Laura-esque First Lady. The movie’s only politico who steps outside the Xerox box is Willem Dafoe as the Chief of Staff, an amalgam of several top policy makers. I can’t recall if the character is given a name, but I like to think of him as Dick Rovesfeld.
Similarly, the world of “Idol” is also given the cookie-cutter treatment. Hugh Grant is playing Martin Tweed, who is essentially Simon Cowell, and Mandy Moore’s Sally Kendoo could stand in for any number of phony reality starlets. I’m not an avid “Idol” watcher (and after the horrid Queen episode, I likely will never be); however there seems to be a Clarksonian element to Sally’s look, and an Underwoodian undercurrent in her faux-poverty back-story.
Unfortunately, by focusing on a direct parody of real figures, the Weitz team ends up sacrificing some of the satirical venom that might’ve been applied to the ideals that these people represent. Consider Omer (Sam Golzari, the real breakout performer of the film), the Iraqi “Dreamz” contestant who is also (marginally) part of a sleeper cell. Given enough time and attention, the idea of a comedy about an incompetent terrorist living in America has the makings of really interesting satire. Sadly this potential is sidetracked here, whenever the focus shifts back to the “Dreamz” and White House stories.
Still, those elements could have been focused into better films too. The story of a know-nothing President who breaks free from his handlers worked great in “Dave.” Christopher Guest brilliantly skewered the world of performance competition (albeit in an obtuse manner) in his “Best In Show” mockumentary. Even the best performances of “Dreamz,” from Mandy Moore and Hugh Grant, also exist in other material (she as the wonderfully vicious Hillary Faye of “Saved!”- He in his great loutish characters in “About a Boy” and “Bridget Jones’ Diary.”).
It may seem odd to suggest that an artist should be less ambitious, but that’s the situation I find myself in. However, it’s the balance of ambition and simplicity that are to blame here: too much gloss on the big ideas, not enough on the details. Next time they should just take it easy- easy as “Pie.”
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