I think I am a placebo…

It’s been a, in all meanings of the word, cloudy day in London town. I really wanted to be in a big cinema, dark and warm, watching a light big screen movie, with popcorn and coca cola in hand. So, instead of walking around the Victoria Park and feeling depressed and afterwards doing some work and feeling even more depressed, I walked down the canal to the cinema in Canary Wharf.

American Dreamz was the only non-horror movie that started around the time I arrived at the cinema. I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. It has a good script – even though it doesn’t say anything new, it says it well. It could in fact be blamed for trying to target too many things. Its characters are too obvious…but then again the obvious is usually funnier than the ‘clever’.

Perhaps the most obvious character is President Stanton who is so clearly Dubya that it hurts to watch Dennis Quaid at times…he is simply too good. The title of this blog is in fact one of his lines. When Mrs President tells him that the happy pills are placebo, he comes to the realisation that he is a placebo for a president… Such life changing realisations can only happen in films! Or are we all placebos of ourselves..ha ha ha

Finally, Hugh Grant is excellent in this film; I’d hazard, even better than in Four Weddings and A Funeral. He does the nasty, sarcastic but deep down sorry character much better than sweet and the sleazy look of his eyes is better than the puppy dog one.

I wouldn’t recommend this film for a Friday date but it’s excellent for a cloudy Sunday afternoon…and let’s face it, despite almost the end of April, we are set for more cloudy Sundays.