American Dreamer (film)
Encyclopedia
American Dreamer is a 1984 American film starring JoBeth Williams
and Tom Conti
. It was directed by Rick Rosenthal from a script by Ann Biderman, David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf
.
An American housewife wins a trip to Paris in a mystery-writing contest. She loses her memory when she's hit by a car, and begins acting as if she were the female detective in her story.
At this point the fourth wall
is apparently broken, as a voice over says, "No, that's not right." The scenario is repeated with adjustments until the voice is eventually satisfied. The screen fades to Cathy Palmer JoBeth Williams
sitting at a typewriter, finishing up the story. She seals it in an envelope and sends it off. Later, her husband, Kevin (James Staley), comes home and she tells him about entering a contest to write a short story following the "Rebecca Ryan" series of novels. Kevin is patronizing, telling her, "The important thing is, you're doing something you enjoy".
Cathy is notified by mail that she has won the contest, including an all-expense paid trip to Paris for two, an Award ceremony and a meeting with the author of the "Rebecca Ryan" novels. Kevin is uninterested in the trip, saying he is just too busy to go. He attempts to persuade her to decline the trip but she resists her pressure and goes on the trip alone. While sightseeing in Paris, her purse is snatched. Chasing the thief, she runs into a street where she is knocked down by a car driven by the Spanish Ambassador, Don Carlos (Jean Rougerie), and hits her head.
Cathy wakes up in a hospital bed, but has amnesia and thinks she is the fictional character, Rebecca Ryan, a daring and highly-skilled dramatic heroine. She escapes from the hospital and decides she needs clothes appropriate to her dashing persona. She goes on a shopping spree at several of Paris's top designer salons. A clerk has doubts about her ability to pay, so he calls up the hotel she has given as her address as this is a key element of Rebecca Ryan in the novels. The clerk asks, "Does Rebecca Ryan live there?" to which a hotel clerk leaning on a desk next to a stack of Rebecca Ryan books replies, "You idiot, everybody knows that Rebecca Ryan lives here."
Cathy (as Rebecca) takes a taxi back the ot the hotel, believing it to be her home. She goes up to the room where the novels say Rebecca lives. When she knocks on the door, it is answered by Alan McMann Tom Conti
who thinks she is a clerical assistant he has requested from an agency. "Rebecca" ignores all of the tasks he assigns her, instead believing that McMann is Rebecca's sidekick Dimitri. As Dimitri is supposedly gay, "Rebecca" has no qualms about undressing in front of him.
"Rebecca" finds an invitation to the Embassy Ball in Alan's mail and decides to attend. There, she challenges a group of Russian diplomats to a drinking contest. She matches them shot for shot of vodka until they all wind up under the table singing Russian songs. (Cathy, in her amnesiac state has taken on Rebecca Ryan's multilingual abilities.) Also at the party she sees Victor Marchand (Giancarlo Giannini), the leader of the opposition party. Still drunk, she becomes convinced that there is a plot to kill him afoot, but assures him that she, Rebecca Ryan, will protect him. Alan warns her that Victor is dangerous and should be avoided.
Still at the party, "Rebecca" also has a conversation with Don Carlos, and quotes Nietzsche to him, "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger" (in flawless German). Don Carlos looks stricken, and retreats to the men's room, where he pulls a code book out of his pocket. Coincidentally, the phrase is a coded instruction for him to terminate himself. He retrieves a hypodermic needle from a hidden compartment in his shoe. He is unable to poison himself, however, as he faints from the stresss. Alan, concerned, follows Don Carlos into the men's room and finds him slumped on the floor unconscious.
Before leaving the party, "Rebecca" accidentally knocks a glass of champagne onto Victor. In a comical series of incidents, "Rebecca" tails Victor, attempting to protect him, but actually causing a number of mishaps and embarrassments for the man.
While "Rebecca" and Alan are leaving the hotel, someone shoots at them. Alan takes the gunfire seriously, but "Rebecca" is more blase, believing it to be part of the thrilling adventures that naturally surround her character. Alan takes her off to his mother's house in hopes of avoiding the assassins.
Alan's mother, Margaret McMann (Coral Browne) is the author of the Rebecca Ryan books. While there, "Rebecca" and Margaret have a spirited discussion about who the "real villain" is, but while "Rebecca' talking about her current "case," Margaret is talking about past books.
"Rebecca" and Alan end up in bed together. They are observed by a shadowy figure lurking outside the house, looking in the windows at them. Suddenly, it is Kevin bursts in the room, punching Alan in the mouth for sleeping with Cathy. Cathy recognizes her husband and is shocked out of her amnesia. With her memory as a wife and mother suddenly returned, she faints.
In a hospital, Kevin and Alan wait to see Cathy. A nurse enters and says that Cathy wants to see, Alan, upsetting Kevin. Her request, however, is so that she can bid Alan goodbye. She dresses and goes off to the airport with Kevin. At Passport Control, she has second thoughts and realizes that she does not want to go home with Kevin. She leaves Kevin at the airport, returns to the hotel. She meets Alan outside of the building and gives Alan a big hug. This is a false ending, however, as a few seconds later, a limousine pulls up and the couple are kidnapped by two men.
Cathy and Alan are revealed hanging by their feet in a room in Victor's house. Victor has been seriously injured in his previous mishaps and now must wear a neckbrace and arm sling amongst other bandages. Victor reveals that he is running a drug-smuggling operation to help him earn money to pay for the high costs of maintaining his ancestral mansion. He believes that Cathy and Alan already knew about his secret criminal dealings and wants them to confess who leaked the information. Alan tries to tell Victor the truth about Cathy's accidental amnesia and series of lucky coincinces, but Victor is disbelieving. He leaves the couple hanging upside down, saying that after another 15 minutes of suspenion, the pain will make them ready to tell all.
Cathy and Alan manage to escape and get out a window. Victor and his henchmen pursue, cornering Cathy and Alan on the roof of the manision. There they grab ahold of a construction crane used in the restoration of the house. The pair swing out over the moat that surrounds the house and let go, falling into the water, eluding their pursuers.
The next scene is in a living room. Cathy and Alan are reading the manuscript of the most recent Rebecca Ryan novel to Cathy's two children. They get to the end of the chapter, and pack the kids off to bed, in spite of the children's demands to know "what happens next". It is revealed that the author of the novels is actually Alan, who used his mother's name as a front so that people wouldn't know that he writes sensational thrillers.
The film ends with some banter and cuddling where Alan and Cathy tease that the next part of the Rebecca Ryan story (i.e. their story) is too sexy to be written down.
JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams is an American film and television actress and director, and current President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.-Early life:...
and Tom Conti
Tom Conti
Thomas "Tom" Conti is a Scottish actor, theatre director and novelist.-Early life:Born Thomas Conti in Paisley, Renfrewshire, he was brought up Roman Catholic, but he considers himself anti-religious...
. It was directed by Rick Rosenthal from a script by Ann Biderman, David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf
Jim Kouf
Jim Kouf is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for his work on Stakeout .-Filmography :...
.
An American housewife wins a trip to Paris in a mystery-writing contest. She loses her memory when she's hit by a car, and begins acting as if she were the female detective in her story.
Plot
The movie opens with what looks like a stereotypical detective thriller scene. Beautiful and hard-boiled detective "Rebecca Ryan" walks into a railroad car and in a few moments spots her target: a woman in one of the seats near the rear of the car. Rebecca walks up and pulls off the woman's wig, revealing that the "woman" is a man in disguise. Rebecca then delivers the tag line: "Rebecca Ryan always gets her man."At this point the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
is apparently broken, as a voice over says, "No, that's not right." The scenario is repeated with adjustments until the voice is eventually satisfied. The screen fades to Cathy Palmer JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams is an American film and television actress and director, and current President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.-Early life:...
sitting at a typewriter, finishing up the story. She seals it in an envelope and sends it off. Later, her husband, Kevin (James Staley), comes home and she tells him about entering a contest to write a short story following the "Rebecca Ryan" series of novels. Kevin is patronizing, telling her, "The important thing is, you're doing something you enjoy".
Cathy is notified by mail that she has won the contest, including an all-expense paid trip to Paris for two, an Award ceremony and a meeting with the author of the "Rebecca Ryan" novels. Kevin is uninterested in the trip, saying he is just too busy to go. He attempts to persuade her to decline the trip but she resists her pressure and goes on the trip alone. While sightseeing in Paris, her purse is snatched. Chasing the thief, she runs into a street where she is knocked down by a car driven by the Spanish Ambassador, Don Carlos (Jean Rougerie), and hits her head.
Cathy wakes up in a hospital bed, but has amnesia and thinks she is the fictional character, Rebecca Ryan, a daring and highly-skilled dramatic heroine. She escapes from the hospital and decides she needs clothes appropriate to her dashing persona. She goes on a shopping spree at several of Paris's top designer salons. A clerk has doubts about her ability to pay, so he calls up the hotel she has given as her address as this is a key element of Rebecca Ryan in the novels. The clerk asks, "Does Rebecca Ryan live there?" to which a hotel clerk leaning on a desk next to a stack of Rebecca Ryan books replies, "You idiot, everybody knows that Rebecca Ryan lives here."
Cathy (as Rebecca) takes a taxi back the ot the hotel, believing it to be her home. She goes up to the room where the novels say Rebecca lives. When she knocks on the door, it is answered by Alan McMann Tom Conti
Tom Conti
Thomas "Tom" Conti is a Scottish actor, theatre director and novelist.-Early life:Born Thomas Conti in Paisley, Renfrewshire, he was brought up Roman Catholic, but he considers himself anti-religious...
who thinks she is a clerical assistant he has requested from an agency. "Rebecca" ignores all of the tasks he assigns her, instead believing that McMann is Rebecca's sidekick Dimitri. As Dimitri is supposedly gay, "Rebecca" has no qualms about undressing in front of him.
"Rebecca" finds an invitation to the Embassy Ball in Alan's mail and decides to attend. There, she challenges a group of Russian diplomats to a drinking contest. She matches them shot for shot of vodka until they all wind up under the table singing Russian songs. (Cathy, in her amnesiac state has taken on Rebecca Ryan's multilingual abilities.) Also at the party she sees Victor Marchand (Giancarlo Giannini), the leader of the opposition party. Still drunk, she becomes convinced that there is a plot to kill him afoot, but assures him that she, Rebecca Ryan, will protect him. Alan warns her that Victor is dangerous and should be avoided.
Still at the party, "Rebecca" also has a conversation with Don Carlos, and quotes Nietzsche to him, "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger" (in flawless German). Don Carlos looks stricken, and retreats to the men's room, where he pulls a code book out of his pocket. Coincidentally, the phrase is a coded instruction for him to terminate himself. He retrieves a hypodermic needle from a hidden compartment in his shoe. He is unable to poison himself, however, as he faints from the stresss. Alan, concerned, follows Don Carlos into the men's room and finds him slumped on the floor unconscious.
Before leaving the party, "Rebecca" accidentally knocks a glass of champagne onto Victor. In a comical series of incidents, "Rebecca" tails Victor, attempting to protect him, but actually causing a number of mishaps and embarrassments for the man.
While "Rebecca" and Alan are leaving the hotel, someone shoots at them. Alan takes the gunfire seriously, but "Rebecca" is more blase, believing it to be part of the thrilling adventures that naturally surround her character. Alan takes her off to his mother's house in hopes of avoiding the assassins.
Alan's mother, Margaret McMann (Coral Browne) is the author of the Rebecca Ryan books. While there, "Rebecca" and Margaret have a spirited discussion about who the "real villain" is, but while "Rebecca' talking about her current "case," Margaret is talking about past books.
"Rebecca" and Alan end up in bed together. They are observed by a shadowy figure lurking outside the house, looking in the windows at them. Suddenly, it is Kevin bursts in the room, punching Alan in the mouth for sleeping with Cathy. Cathy recognizes her husband and is shocked out of her amnesia. With her memory as a wife and mother suddenly returned, she faints.
In a hospital, Kevin and Alan wait to see Cathy. A nurse enters and says that Cathy wants to see, Alan, upsetting Kevin. Her request, however, is so that she can bid Alan goodbye. She dresses and goes off to the airport with Kevin. At Passport Control, she has second thoughts and realizes that she does not want to go home with Kevin. She leaves Kevin at the airport, returns to the hotel. She meets Alan outside of the building and gives Alan a big hug. This is a false ending, however, as a few seconds later, a limousine pulls up and the couple are kidnapped by two men.
Cathy and Alan are revealed hanging by their feet in a room in Victor's house. Victor has been seriously injured in his previous mishaps and now must wear a neckbrace and arm sling amongst other bandages. Victor reveals that he is running a drug-smuggling operation to help him earn money to pay for the high costs of maintaining his ancestral mansion. He believes that Cathy and Alan already knew about his secret criminal dealings and wants them to confess who leaked the information. Alan tries to tell Victor the truth about Cathy's accidental amnesia and series of lucky coincinces, but Victor is disbelieving. He leaves the couple hanging upside down, saying that after another 15 minutes of suspenion, the pain will make them ready to tell all.
Cathy and Alan manage to escape and get out a window. Victor and his henchmen pursue, cornering Cathy and Alan on the roof of the manision. There they grab ahold of a construction crane used in the restoration of the house. The pair swing out over the moat that surrounds the house and let go, falling into the water, eluding their pursuers.
The next scene is in a living room. Cathy and Alan are reading the manuscript of the most recent Rebecca Ryan novel to Cathy's two children. They get to the end of the chapter, and pack the kids off to bed, in spite of the children's demands to know "what happens next". It is revealed that the author of the novels is actually Alan, who used his mother's name as a front so that people wouldn't know that he writes sensational thrillers.
The film ends with some banter and cuddling where Alan and Cathy tease that the next part of the Rebecca Ryan story (i.e. their story) is too sexy to be written down.