Grade: B- | Genre: Comedy/Satire
Summary: American Dreamz certainly provides you with a nice satire of American pop culture and our political entanglements around the globe, but it's a little too safe. It needed to go for the jugular more and not apologize for its sharp humor.

Mandy Moore has been a bit of a sleeper on the Hollywood scene. A couple years ago, she was little more than a syrupy sweet pop princess who was looking to milk her fame into a crossover career in fluff films. Suddenly, she veered off course, showing a keen taste in men, hooking up with American tennis sensation Andy Roddick then the quirky humor genius of Scrubs Zach Braff. Next, after narrowly avoiding being tangled up in teen movie hell (How to Deal, Chasing Liberty), she has aligned herself with savvy directors (John Turturro) and sharp roles (Saved) that make you eager to scrap any preconceived notions you're harboring about her. This time she teams up with the brain trust that gave us quality flicks like About a Boy and In Good Company for an American Idol spoof that tries to get at that shred of goodness that keeps this mind numbing television slapping the Nielson families like it was their bitch.