Fridae

For Fridae readers who miss watching the recently-ended Singapore Idol, American Dreamz should be No. 1 on your list of Must-Watch movies. You'll love it. For everyone else, you can take it or leave it.

This Paul Weitz comedy is a satire of the American presidency, terrorism and reality talent shows like American Idol. In it, Dennis Quaid plays a dumb Bush-like president who hopes to improve his ratings among his voters by being a guest judge on the country's most popular talent show, American Dreamz.

The talent show boasts a Simon Cowell/Ken Lim-soundalike judge (Hugh Grant) who loves to put down the contestants with lacerating remarks. Mandy Moore is the young diva who wants to win at all costs, but she faces tough competition from an Arab-American singer who has secret links to a terrorist group.

American Dreamz looks promising on paper, but does not always deliver. As a satire, it is rather weak. But the gags and one-liners sometimes work wonders. Mandy and Hugh give very solid comic performances, while Tony Yalda is a scream as the gay Arab who teaches his cousin how to dance. You will see various shades of past American Idol contestants in the movie, especially Carrie Underwood.