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‘American Dreamer’ Review: Peter Dinklage And Shirley MacLaine At Their Best In This Very Black Human Comedy


A review of 'American Dreamer' in which Peter Dinklage attempts to find happiness in a real estate deal offered by a 90ish woman Shirley MacLaine

Soon, after moving in and actually meeting her, he discovers she is spry as a 60 year old, appearing far from death’s door, and has a huge family including daughter Maggie ( Kim Quinn) who is also a lawyer. Yes, this movie is out there, folks but it is consistently and wryly funny, powered by Dinklage who shows no vanity in making Phil quite a human disaster as nothing seems to be going right, except oddly his budding relationship with Astrid the woman he thought he wanted dead. MacLaine has her best role in some time (Melfi wrote it with both her and Dinklage in mind) and she runs with it, also not afraid to show aging and all its faults (she turns 90 in April), even in a remarkable scene where she tosses off her red wig after nearly drowning and being rescued by Phil who has become some sort of spiritual savior.

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