American Dreamz Hot

American Dreamz is a wicked satire . . . so the first piece of advice is only take children who can understand satire. The movie nails the inner workings of reality TV, the screwed up motivations behind the desire for fame, stage mothers, agents, and America's mixed up priorities in watching TV over watching our government. In this film, we also see the president as a piece of showmanship himself, an attractive man-of-the-people being used as a puppet.

The fact is, American Dreamz is a gold mine for conversation starters about life issues with your kids. Both Mandy Moore and Hugh Grant's characters give us backstory to know why they are immoral, fake manipulators who are unable to love others. It's a great way to explain that people exist who are inexplicably mean and that it's really a manifestation of their own unhappiness, not a reflection on the people who are on the receiving end of their cruelty. The political and terrorist content is there if you want to dip into it with your kids as well, but they may just see that as a movie and perhaps that's best depending on your child's age. Cursing abounds in this film as well as an implied sex scene as a plot point but it's entirely off camera. The most disturbing element is a terrorist plot to kill the president -- the outcome is off camera but it would be upsetting to younger children. For kids 11 and older.