On the morning of his re-election, the President (
Dennis Quaid) decides to read the newspaper for the first time in four years. This starts him down a slippery slope. He begins reading obsessively, re-examining his black and white view of the world, holing up in his bedroom in his pajamas. Frightened by the President's apparent nervous breakdown, his Chief of Staff (
Willem Dafoe) pushes him back into the spotlight, booking him as a guest judge on the television ratings juggernaut (and the President's personal fave), the weekly talent show
American Dreamz.
America can't seem to get enough of
American Dreamz, hosted by self-aggrandizing, self-loathing Martin Tweed (
Hugh Grant), ever on the lookout for the next insta-celebrity. His latest crop of hopefuls includes Sally (
Mandy Moore), a conniving steel magnolia with a devoted, dopey veteran boyfriend (
Chris Klein), and Omer, a recent Southern Californian immigrant (who just happens to be a bumbling, show tune singing, would-be terrorist awaiting activation). When both Sally and Omer make it to the final round of Dreamz--where the President will be judging along with Tweed--the stage is set for a show the nation will never forget.