It takes a lot of adulting to be able to afford owning your own home. And just to be real, it’s not always within the realm of possibility. Sometimes it just takes a bit of luck for the financials to all work out. In American Dreamer, Peter Dinklage plays a man whose goal of home ownership can come true easier than he ever thought…but it comes with a very weird catch.
In American Dreamer, Dinklage’s character is based on the true story of Phil Loder, as heard in an episode of This American Life. Loder answers an ad for a mansion at the cost of only $240K, an offer too good to be true. So what’s the catch? Loder would have to live with the elderly woman who currently owns it. Hilarity ensues.
The film also stars Shirley MacLaine, Kim Quinn, Matt Dillon, Danny Glover, Daniel Pudi, and Michelle Mylett..
Paul Dektor makes his directorial debut, working from a script by Hidden Figures and The Starling filmmaker, Theodore Melfi.
Here’s the synopsis: American Dreamer, based on a true story from Chicago Public Radio’s The American Life, is the story of Phil Loder (Dinklage), a twice divorced, frustrated, underpaid professor of economics, whose grand dream of home ownership is tragically out of reach. When an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes his way, Phil strikes a deal with Astrid Finnelli (MacLaine), a lonely, childless, near-death widow who offers her sprawling estate for pennies. But Phil quickly learns the deal is too good to be true and the American dream is not quite what it used to be. The film also stars Matt Dillon, Danny Glover, Daniel Pudi, and Michelle Mylett.
American Dreamer opens in select theaters and VOD on March 8th.
