Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

American Dreamer

R Released Sep 20, 2019 1h 32m Mystery & Thriller TRAILER for American Dreamer: Trailer 1 List
53% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 76% Audience Score 50+ Ratings
A down-on-his-luck driver who makes extra cash by chauffeuring a low-level drug dealer around town finds himself in a serious financial bind and decides to kidnap the dealer's child. Read More Read Less
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

American Dreamer

Fandango at Home Prime Video Apple TV

Rent American Dreamer on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Reviews

View All (15) Critics Reviews
Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times Directed with claustrophobic, docudrama-style intensity by Derrick Borte and featuring a career-best dramatic performance by [Jim] Gaffigan, "American Dreamer" is a dark and intense and sometimes brutally violent slice of rotted life. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 20, 2019 Full Review Noel Murray Los Angeles Times Gaffigan brings plenty of gravitas to "American Dreamer," a low-key neo-noir that starts out as a character sketch about a broken man, and then takes an even darker turn. Sep 19, 2019 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Since none of the characters are terribly bright or likable, the experience of watching the film is like being trapped inside a locked car stuck in neutral. Rated: 2/5 Sep 19, 2019 Full Review Alison Foreman Mashable It's a far cry from Gaffigan's typical optimism, and not anywhere near as funny. But as is often the case in comedy, American Dreamer works because it feels true, and bleakly, unapologetically possible. Dec 6, 2019 Full Review Jackie K. Cooper jackiekcooper.com An average thriller made better by a dramatic turn by the always funny Jim Gaffigan. Rated: 5/10 Oct 15, 2019 Full Review Wade Major FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) It takes some turns that feel very contributed, but you're watching this basically to watch Jim Gaffigan work and do something we haven't seen him do before. And in that regard, it's very rewarding. Oct 4, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (35) audience reviews
Ted B 3.5 stars: Yes. This movie was claustrophobic. But, that is what made this picture work. We are stuck inside a 'Uber type' car with a very downtrodden character whose life is in a downward spiral. This cramped environment gives us the ability to understand what drives (pun intended) this character to make such a desperate idiotic decision. I wasn't real sure what the moral of the story was. But on the other hand, that's what made it more true to life. Jim Gaffigan's performance moves him into that category of sparsely populated funny comedians who can deliver superlative dramatic performances. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/04/23 Full Review les n Maybe I'm just a Jim Gaffigan fan, but I really liked this movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Intense movie that gave me anxiety the entire viewing. Jim Gaffigan in a non comedy role did well but kept expecting a Hot Pocket joke. No seriously though very well paced and tense. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/31/20 Full Review Audience Member Wow, this was done great. Tension throughout. Good movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member The movie was well made and the soundtrack was pretty dope , the cast was cool and all but the story was just a little to cringy for my taste! I would have love to have seen the kidnapper die at the end or if the child didn't died in the nature he did ! The ending was sucked ! Jim gaffigan's character was pretty evil! But the mom was dirty as well ! I would have rated the movie like a 4 stars but the content was like find of messed up Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member I love Jim Gaffigan's comedy and am a huge fan. When I first saw the preview for this, I felt hesitant about seeing it. I finally had a chance to watch this and it was a nice surprise, very good. His role reminds me some of when Robin Williams played a creepy photo tech in One Hour Photo. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
American Dreamer

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Cut Bank 37% 29% Cut Bank The Living 50% 35% The Living Mean Dreams 78% 56% Mean Dreams TRAILER for Mean Dreams Don't Tell a Soul 73% 57% Don't Tell a Soul TRAILER for Don't Tell a Soul Unhinged 48% 77% Unhinged TRAILER for Unhinged Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A down-on-his-luck driver who makes extra cash by chauffeuring a low-level drug dealer around town finds himself in a serious financial bind and decides to kidnap the dealer's child.
Director
Derrick Borte
Producer
Scott Floyd Lochmus
Screenwriter
Derrick Borte, Daniel Forte
Distributor
Saban Films
Production Co
Storyland Pictures
Rating
R (Some Strong Sexual Content|Disturbing Material|Pervasive Language|Drug Use|Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 20, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 20, 2019
Runtime
1h 32m
Most Popular at Home Now