AMERICAN DRESSER – Review

Review by Matthew Lowery

In 1986, Vietnam veteran turned filmmaker Oliver Stone brought us the war film Platoon based on his wartime experiences. Among its cast was Tom Berenger as Sgt. Barnes, who has been driven crazy from the shellshock of the conflict. In addition to Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe, the film also featured early appearances from Johnny Depp and Keith David. Even 30 plus years after release, the film still holds up and is a classic Vietnam war film. I bring this up because American Dresser features both Berenger and David who happen to have served in Vietnam. I’m not entirely sure if this was just a coincidence, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was somewhat intentional. Also, given that this film concerns two guys driving through the continental US on motorcycles, it feels like Easy Rider. Honestly, the fact that this reminded me of better movies is not promising.

Berenger plays John Moore, whose wife (Gina Gershon in flashbacks) recently died of cancer. At his wife’s funeral, his daughters are unhappy that he’s there, and there’s clearly some tension going on. At the same time, Moore meets up with his former sergeant Charlie (Keith David), who’s recovering from a motorcycle accident. After finding a letter amongst some old belongings, Moore decides to take his bike all the way to Oregon. Charlie decides to tag along, and they soon meet a drifter named Willy (writer-director Carmine Cangialosi) who soon joins them. From there, it becomes a cross-country odyssey as they ride off to Oregon for some seemingly unknown purpose. Along the way, we meet characters like former biker King (Bruce Dern) and widow Vera (Penelope Ann Miller). Some other highlights include going to a party, having a run-in with the law, and learning more about each other.

Probably the best thing I can say about this movie is that it has a truly amazing cast. Between Oscar nominees Tom Berenger and Bruce Dern, you’ve also got character actors like Keith David and Jeff Fahey. While Dern, Gershon, Miller, and Fahey don’t have much screen time, they do shine and make the most of it. Berenger and David do a great job as the two leads, and they have fantastic chemistry with one another. The two really come off as old friends wanting to spend one last ride together despite their major life changes. Honestly, the acting is so good that it’s a shame the material isn’t all that great. While I’m not familiar with Cangialosi’s prior work, you can certainly tell this is a first-timer. His acting is pretty stiff and flat, and his direction is average at best.

The best way I can describe this movie is that it’s about average, nothing special but not awful. It’s got some great actors doing what they do best, but the script and the direction are flat and lifeless. At around 90 minutes, it won’t take up too much of your time if you have nothing better to do. This honestly feels like a direct-to-video movie that happens to have actors who are way too good for this. Overall, American Dresser takes elements from other and much better movies and doesn’t do much with it.

Rating: 2-1/2 out of 5 stars