What doesn’t work quite so well, however, in the humor or good taste department – even in a satirical offering like this – is the plot involving Omer (Sam Golzari), a young suicide bomber who hasn’t exactly shown much aptitude for shooting or killing tactics during his Al Qaida-esque training. Turns out his real love is for performing American show tunes, something his fellow trainees at the desert camp use to their advantage later when Omer, essentially the new William Hung ("American Idol," season three), is recruited for “American Dreamz” to balance out a singing Hasidic Jew. Without giving anything away for those planning to see the movie, winning the “Dreamz” title isn’t exactly Omer’s endgame, even though he’s not aware of it until much, much later in the competition.

Then there’s the overly ambitious, opportunistic Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), a Southern songbird who's essentially a more sinister Britney Spears with a better singing voice who’ll do anything to be a star. And I do mean anything, whether it’s being referred to as “white trash” or exploiting the love of her war-hero ex-boyfriend William Williams (Chris Klein) on “American Dreamz” each week. In her scenes with Grant, Moore shines, even in an unflattering role, because it’s clear from the outset that their characters understand each other better than anyone else has, and their love/hate relationship provides quite a few laughs.

But although there are plenty of funny moments scattered throughout, there’s clearly something missing in "American Dreamz." Namely, a backbone. While there’s the potential for considerable cultural commentary, the material in "American Dreamz" lingers a little too close to the middle and attempts to throw a bone to everyone watching. If Weitz really wanted to use the film as a springboard for his opinion about the state of the world, he should’ve taken a cue from better executed, less wishy-washy satire like "Wag the Dog" or "Election." But as a lightweight, escapist comedy for those looking for something to watch on a Friday night, this wildly uneven farce may just do the trick. Or you could save money and add it to your Netflix queue in the coming months.
  
AUDIENCE:  13 and up

CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  A few of the Arab characters enjoy cocktails by the pool.
• Language/Profanity:  The usual expletives, including those of the religious variety, are peppered throughout (including the PG-13 allotment of F-words).
• Sex/Nudity:  There’s some crude references to sex between Martin and Sally, and while little of the actual act is shown it’s implied that they have sex later.
• Violence:  A suicide bomb mission leads to a fatality for one character.