Admittedly, it’s hard to watch the first twenty minutes of Dinner in America. The slurs are gratuitous, the suburban families are superficially satiric, and it seemed at first glance the leads were, too. But when the punk singer and his awkward fan meet, and they start driving around the Midwest, there’s a charming chemistry formed between these two weirdos, portrayed with a dynamic back-and-forth between Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs. This chemistry makes their ridiculous character flaws work, too– as Simon’s random destructive quirks end up being the perfect response for Patty’s life and Patty’s deranged fan letters turn out to be the kind of lyrical genius Simon’s been looking for. There’s no denying that the film is brash and rough at the edges like its leads, and even with this, some viewers might still turn up their noses at the two. But the over-the-top humor, the memorable dialogue, and the surprising sweetness of Dinner in America makes for a scrappy, edgy romcom that might actually be punk.
"Funny, angry, unusual. That'll do."
— Lou Thomas
"A movie with anti-establishment anti-social quicksilver coursing through its veins, but at its heart it is a sweet love story, one of the sweetest in recent memory."
— Sheila O'Malley
An on-the-lam punk rocker and a young woman obsessed with a local band go on an unexpected and epic journey together through the decaying suburbs of the American Midwest.
After being on the run from the cops, punk rock singer Simon unexpectedly meets awkward misfit Patty, who happens to be a superfan of his band. This leads them to go on a journey to get what they’re owed in America’s decaying Midwestern suburbs.
Okay, yes, this film has employed a lot of slurs, both from the leads and the antagonist suburban families. Yes, it’s bad to say these words. Don’t do it. But it’s clear that the film makes the distinction between saying the word and actually holding the mindset of looking down at the marginalized groups as subhuman, since the only time the leads ever say them is to self-consciously question whether the people looking down on them are right (Patty) and to sling them back to people looking down at them (Simon).
Look... As an adult, I would hate to actually meet these two. But if I watched this during my teenage punk/emo phase, I would be so down bad for the two of them.
Sundance
1 nomination
