User reviews

The rating doesn't do it justice... A good watchable film from start to finish

I'll try to render my opinion without any spoilers. First, the acting is top notch, especially the Latina mother of the kidnapped boy in question. She was completely believable as a streetwise habitue and I suspect she will have a long future in Hollywood. Everyone else was fine, so no complaints there. Why seven out of ten? Well, in the end, the "story" was a bit far-fetched: a down-on-his-luck cabbie resorts to kidnapping in order to make money for child support? I guess, in Hollywood terms, this is probably akin to Al Pacino holding up a bank to pay for his lover's sex-change operation in Dog Day Afternoon. What man will do when they're desperate! Is this a film worth seeing? Sure. You won't be disappointed.

A down on his luck man (Jim Gaffigan) is now working as taxi driver after being made redundant. With child care costs and unsympathetic ex wife things look very bleak. He takes a job which ends up being driving round a drug dealer on his money collections. Desperately he kidnaps the dealers son and demands 20k for his return. When you see Jim Gaffigan's name you expect light hearted and funny but don't be fooled this is an edge of the seat drama filled ride.

Positive: The summary describes the plot well. A creative mixing of rather ordinary done before subplots. Negatives: As others have mentioned you probably won't find any boy/girl scouts amongst all the characters. Usual stereotypes of troubled divorced loser father; his wife; drug dealers. Lots of negatives (left with a bad taste type story), even the ending, but maybe that's the reality the writers intended.

I went into this movie with no expectations and was pleasantly suprised at how good it was. I'm a big jim gaffigan fan and was really impressed at how good a job he did. Would recommend watching this if your looking to kill 90 minutes.

Didn't fancy this film thought it was going to be a "b" movie but I was very wrong. Acting by the lead and supporting actor was at a very high standard along with the direction and cinematography the story was also very good, my wife and I scored this a 6 but could have been an 8 but one part of the movie frustrated us both hence why my scoring dropped I cant elaborate on that drop as I will spoil the movie.

I'd recommend this movie as the story and acting is first class.

A very dark thriller that keeps you watching. I just finished watching "American Dreamer" via VOD. What a great movie. Jim Gaffigan was great at being such a dark character and Robbie Jones was menacing and intelligent in this. The whole movie takes one dark turn after another. The director did a great job at keeping the story moving non stop. If you love a good dark thriller of a movie, watch this ASAP. And if you want to see a slightly insane Jim Gaffigan, you need to watch this movie! I highly suggest it. I'm mad I didn't know about this movie before today? I seen it was finished in 2018 but just now being released late 2019??? People are really missing out on a great flick!

Quite the departure for Gaffigan. WOW! I'm sure most of us can relate to his character in some way or another. Down on his luck, everything happening is bad,, dealing with some mental and emotional instability,,, who hasn't been in at least some of those places (I have OCD / Panic Disorder / Thyroid Cancer Survivor / Depression,, just to name a few). Now,, all that being said,, this movie was really good,, not pleasant,, but really good. So,, if you can compartmentalize and remember that this is a movie,, go watch it!

Jim Gaffigan proves there may be life beyond comedy but not beyond the confines of a bad script. His character is a loser, bound by bad decisions caused by mental illness or depression, or something? His motivation for carrying on is to be a father to his son, which is the only likeable characteristic about him. This undermines the credibility of his decisions in a hairbrained kidnapping scheme for a drug dealers baby. He seems rational enough to talk his way out of getting pulled over, but can't seem to understand the basics of child care and how it plays into collecting his ransom? All of this isn't well thought out by the writers or the character they hoped to create. Jim has range, which should help him in the future, but this movie isn't good.

The real theme of the movie is men failing to take responsibility for their actions. The combustible mix of Mazz's paranoia and Cam's desperation comes to a head when Cam kidnaps Mazz's son with the intent of collecting ransom money. This terrible plan goes even worse than Cam could've anticipated. It has many thrilling moments, twist and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat till the end.

Jim Gaffigan demonstrates true leading man acting abilities! Especially if you need a challenges down on his luck pasty ass white man, such as myself. This script puts him through the paces and he handles them well. The guy having sex with his gf was awful. If that was what he was going for, then Aces, Brah! My problem with the movie is that it is presented as a happy ending and it just can't be allowed that outcome. So, I liked some of the acting, some of the script and most all of the production values. But get a grip and fix the script!

Great story.. although a little dark. All the acting was superb. cant believe it was shot in 16 days

6.4

Gritty and dark drama with decent suspense throughout.

Jim Gaffigan is excellent as Cam, a rideshare driver who has strong mental problems and is under severe financial stress. Robbie Jones is also superb as Mazz, a drug dealer who hires Cam's vehicle for the day. In one desperate moment, Cam decides to kidnap for ransom Mazz's young son, and things will take a terrible turn thereafter.

Overall, definitely not your feel-good movie of the month, but if you like very dark films you may very well like this one. Raw language throughout, increasing violence, and one explicit sex scene.

His range is so unexpected?? but amazing?? he makes you feel for his character so deeply even though he's betraying your trust every chance he gets. amazing paradox and references to much broader current events.

The bad guy is praised. Baby killer at that. The bad guy is praised. Baby killer at that. The bad guy is praised. Baby killer at that.

Idea of the movie was ok , but very poor execute..... Budget i hope is not more than 20k .... Cant be .... one of the worst movies made recently ... Even after first 45-mins you know how the film will end.

This is such an amazing thriller I can't believe the low ratings! Do yourself a favor And watch this

Jim Gaffigan is spectacular and pulls your sympathy even though it's undeserved. Robbie Jones is a scary villain who does a tremendous job pulling you into the mess with an awesome performance not to be missed.

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Matter of fact if u watch this u will lose brain cells so dont waste ur brain cells for sucha non worthy thing.

American Dreamer isnt a horrible movie, but it has major flaws. The only really interesting acting job here is being done here is by Jim Gaffigan. The other actors seem stilted. The movie is shot well and really sets a mood, unfortunately the acting done by most of the cast doesn't deliver the correct tone or mood that the scenes seem to demand. But I'd say give it a watch just to see an element of Jim Gaffigan you normally wouldn't see, and dare I say one I'd like to see more often.