American Dreamer

Writer: Theodore Melfi

Director: Paul Dektor

Here’s a fun little movie that doesn’t ask too much of the audience. Phil (Peter Dinklage) is a down-at-heel associate professor of economics who is desperate to own a house, and not make do with the ‘starter condo’ suggested by his dismissive estate agent Dell (Matt Dillon, in a hugely enjoyable turn as a harmless anti-hero).

There are lots of gags highlighting Phil’s lifestyle niggles, from his lack of love to his lack of professional tenure and his lack of a decent car. His boss is even struggling to find him a permit to use the university car park.

Despite all this, he comes across an advert offering a highly unusual deal: buy a property worth millions for just $240,000 cash. The catch is that the buyer must live in a shabby self-contained apartment for the remaining lifetime of the current owner, Astrid (the fabulous Shirley MacLaine), who will pocket the money and continue to have the run of the rest of the grand house.

There’s brilliant on-screen chemistry between MacLaine and Dinklage from their first meeting, if only to signal their characters’ initial lack of rapport. Astrid is sardonic while Phil – downbeat, philosophical, used to rejection – takes it all on the chin. It’s his resilience and lack of surprise at other people’s hostility that makes Phil such an endearing character. While others couldn’t care less about him, he’s revealed as a kind and thoughtful guy who would always help out in a crisis.

While the thin plot meanders through some amusing (but not wildly compelling) territory, we get another star turn, Danny Glover turning up as a private detective. Indeed, it’s a lightweight film with a heavyweight cast. It’s also warm and gentle escapism, worth watching for the way these various screen legends somehow raise the quality of this entertainment well beyond its obvious limitations, giving performances you can utterly buy into, without believing them in any real sense.

It does help a smidge that this tale is loosely based on a true story. And Dinklage in particular is on excellent form, suggesting the depth of character that helped to make The Station Agent (2003) such a captivating and memorable watch.

American Dreamer is one of those movies that would suffer if too many turning-points were revealed, so suffice to say that Kimberley Quinn, as Maggie, is a convincing enough adversary, a lawyer threatening to render Phil’s agreement with Astrid null and void. Altogether this mild-mannered caper may not be something to get hugely excited about, but it certainly provides enough colour and intrigue to while away a dull afternoon.

American Dreamer will be available on Digital Download from 17th March.