Not long ago, Paul Weitz, creator with his brother Chris of the American Pie franchise and director of About a Boy , was wrapped up with the rest of the country in American Idol when he had a revelation. “It occurred to me that we were being told we were at war but at the same time none of my personal habits was changing in terms of the kind of culture I was consuming. It seemed like a weird kind of disconnect — us going about our business in a totally normal fashion.
“The [movie’s] plot then almost came to me on a subconscious level. Once I came up with a plot, I tried to intellectualize after the fact and think, what is it about? That’s something I do, and then it helps me to decide what scenes to cut and what to keep, and in this case, I decided it was about this core of American identity, which was we are supposed to have a dream and that’s supposed to be a positive thing. And the question of whether that makes it impossible for us to deal with reality, or shades of gray. That was how I could fit an American Idol parody with a parody of the current administration and its idea that we can go make a star out of a Middle Eastern country and have that be a beacon for democracy.”
Sounds rather dry and rational. But this is the guy who revolutionized teen movies by introducing sex with baked goods. Suffice to say that Omer, the hero of American Dreamz , is a Muslim terrorist torn between his dream of singing show tunes and his mission as a suicide bomber. Even those not offended by American Pie might find that in bad taste.
Weitz himself had doubts about the project when, just as production started last summer, a terrorist outrage took place. “I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I was driving to set on the second day and heard about the London bombings. I’m not a complete idiot, so I knew there was a possibility [of another attack] on American soil or elsewhere while this film was being made or came out. I had to look at the script and ask myself if I could stand behind what it was saying. Probably the most bald statement in the film is when the Omer character says, ‘Can one ever truly ease one’s suffering by causing someone else to suffer?’ That seems to be a core question of terrorism. So I actually think that there is in the film, whether one agrees with it or not, a measure of discussion of terrorism. It’s a comedy, almost as if the terrorists were in an early Mel Brooks or Woody Allen film.”
On the other hand, some will criticize American Dreamz for not being satiric enough.
“Depending on where one is sitting, one could either think that this is making fun too much or that it is not scathing enough. But the purpose is to talk about things with people who are not converted to one’s point of view. Films tend to preach to the converted, especially if there’s any sort of political content in it. At the same time, some people might walk in and have a good time seeing it as a comedy, but there’ll be ideas brought up in it that are not ideas that you are usually dealing with in a comedy.”
In other words, American Dreamz seeks to provoke dialogue as well as laughter. “Here’s my dream,” says Weitz, “that if you look at two sides of an issue, you’re not considered a waffler.”
