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Mar 8, 2024 · Phil Loder, a struggling professor, buys a mansion from a dying widow for a low price, but soon faces unexpected challenges. Based on a true story, this film explores the American dream, loneliness and comedy.
- 10 Hustle & Flow
- 9 Minari
- 8 Dolemite Is My Name
- 7 The Founder
- 6 Revolutionary Road
- 5 The Pursuit of Happyness
- 4 The Great Gatsby
- 3 of Mice and Men
- 2 MA Rainey’s Black Bottom
- 1 A Streetcar Named Desire
Terrance Howard puts on quite a show in this redemptive drama as Djay, a hustler and pimp living in Memphis. Working with a stable of three sex workers wasn’t enough to bring food to the table, and while Djay had a gift for rhyming, his dreams of success and becoming an emcee were too out of reach. In a burst of inspiration, he decided to trade in ...
Minari is a tender and moving portrait of a Korean-American family trying to make the most of the opportunities laid out before them while carving out a little life and a new home on an Arkansas farm in the 1980s. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the movie is led by Steven Yeun’s Jacob, a man determined to succeed in farming an untested cro...
As a biographical comedy set in 1970s LA, the period film holds no bars in its representation of the era. From foul-mouthed humor and black culture to catchy tunes and pure showmanship, Dolemite Is My Nameis a trailblazer that forges a path to success and fame on its own terms. In the center of it is Rudy Ray Moore, the godfather of rap and undergr...
Starring Michael Keaton in one of his most ruthless roles, The Founderis the true story of how McDonald’s rose to dominance at a time when America needed it the most. Keaton’s Ray Kroc was nothing but a multimixer salesman until he noticed a small burger business bagging in thousands of customers and making deliveries in less than 30 seconds. Seein...
Revolutionary Road follows the 1950s couple, Frank and April Wheeler, as they struggle to come to terms with the breakdown of their marriage. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in their second on-screen collaboration (with some imagining this film to be the sad sequel to Titanicif the couple had lived), this romantic drama rips away the fa...
Achieving success against the odds is one of the core principles of the American Dream, and this is embodied through the life of Chris Gardner. Based on the real account of Gardner’s time as a homeless salesman, The Pursuit of Happyness depicts the battles he faced in attempting to form a successful career while also caring for his young son. Force...
The Great Gatsby explores the consequences of materialism that derives from the pursuit of the American Dream and is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous book, which many consider to be 'the great American novel.' Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Spider-Man's Tobey Maguire, this period romance follows the extravagant life of a millionaire, Jay Gatsb...
Working-class men struggled in the 20th century, but when it came to the American ideal, no one dreamed bigger. Of Mice and Men focuses on two farm workers, George and the intellectually disabled Lennie, who chase the dream of one day buying their own land. Pushed into a crowded space with thousands of others trying to find success, the Dream convi...
Starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role, this biographical drama recounts a turbulent recording session with influential blues singer Ma Rainey during 1920s Chicago. Not long after the Civil War and brimming with inequality, America was a hostile place to be for Black individuals, and their imposed American Dream meant forg...
A Streetcar Named Desire tells the story of Blanche DuBois, a southern belle who leaves her aristocratic background to live with her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley. Starring the Oscar-winning Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando at the top of his game, this Southern gothic drama shows the steady decline of the American Dream ideal, with Blanche...
Nov 15, 2016 · A selection of movies that show the challenges and complexities of the American Dream, from Pleasantville to Forrest Gump. These films explore the themes of success, failure, politics, and social issues in the USA.
Apr 16, 2024 · Ann Casano. Updated April 18, 2024. Voting Rules. Vote up the movies that truly encapsulate the American dream. Hollywood has been churning out movies about the American Dream since the beginning of cinema over 100 years ago. In the films, sometimes the hero’s dream is unobtainable, in other movies the dream is alive and well.
- ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ (2006) In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) can’t sell the medical device he invested in. Tired of struggling, his wife leaves him, and he loses his apartment.
- ‘The Founder’ (2016) Dick (Nick Offerman) and Mac (John Carroll Lynch) McDonald open a fast-food burger place and call it McDonalds in The Founder. It does well enough to attract the attention of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton).
- ‘Spanglish’ (2004) Single mother Flor (Paz Vega) and daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) emigrate from Mexico for a better life in America in Spanglish. Flor works for a wealthy family where Cristina is exposed to a culture that Flor isn’t ready to accept or respect.
- ‘Hustle & Flow’ (2005) DJay (Terrence Howard) is a Memphis pimp with a stable of three sex workers, including pregnant and out-of-work Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and Nola (Taryn Manning), who turns tricks out of the back of DJay’s car.
Apr 18, 2021 · Nomadland and Minari challenge the myths of the American Dream itself, with its promise of a welcoming country full of economic opportunity. These films offer a recognisable version of the US...
