6 Great Movies With “American” In Front Of The Title

Americannness is an elusive concept. Invoking the term in any situation is an easy, catch-all way of conjuring up images of excess or freedom run amok, perhaps of false confidence or unwavering optimism, or even, in some instances, an unironic appreciation for the promise that anything is possible. Using the word to lead off the title of your movie is a brave move, since it’s sure to conjure up a sense of self importance in itself, making people conscious of a nation’s history and identity in a way that may or may not be in the best interest of the movie’s aims. Most filmmakers are smart enough to be fully aware of all the implications and connotations of titling their projects in this way. The latest to do this is David O. Russell, director of one of this award season’s emerging favorites, American Hustle, which is at long last receiving a wide release this week (interestingly, its original title was “American Bullshit”). The film is based on the ABSCAM saga of the late 1970s, and surely has plenty to say about the loaded concept of the American Dream, fleshed out with the help of a star-studded cast of players the Russell drew from his growing stable of regular actors. Americanness is nothing if not reflexive, which is another way of saying self-obsessed, in a way that’s not always self-conscious. So, on that note, here are 6 great movies that use the world "American" in front of their title. Continue reading on the next page... 1) American Psycho Christian Bale’s previous “American” movie, before Hustle, was Mary Harron’s American Psycho back in 2000. Before Dexter Morgan slashed his way into our hearts as America’s Favorite Serial Killer, Patrick Bateman exercised the audience’s frustration toward a vapid corporatized 1980s society through a series of violent outbursts. The movie is meant to be satirical and so much of the dialogue and even the violence are played for laughs, uncomfortable as they may be at times. It doesn’t make the violence less shocking, just more alien and cartoonish, as if it serves a greater point. That point is one that has inspired a lot of interesting academic writing but ultimately is over my head. That is, I find it articulates something, an impulsive and impotent resentment toward excessive style and absent substance, that is difficult to express in mere words. Many have pointed out that American Psycho is an angry response to the lifestyle depicted (and criticized) in Wall Street. It also explores the theory that the people who benefit most from the hypermasculine corporate structure of American big business are deranged psychopaths. Continue reading on the next page... 2) American History X American history can be an ugly thing, and American History X is widely lauded for its refusal to shy away from that ugliness, specifically the ugliness that is racism and racial violence. Movies that try to deal frankly with race are a difficult endeavor to pull off, and so while I don’t find the movie as strong as many others seem to, I give it immense credit for attempting to address one of America’s most taboo subjects in a direct way. The central fraternal figures of the movie, Derek and Danny Vinyard, are interesting samples of the racist mind. Their familial bond is strong, evidenced not only by the movie’s bittersweet conclusion, but the fact that their prejudice is, to a large extent, hereditary. The philosophies they inherit from their father, being passed down through conversation and observation, is driven deeper by the circumstances of his death. This makes hatred of one particular group an even more emotional pillar of their being, which makes the steps toward abandoning such a deeply ingrained way of thinking a source of hope. It’s a consciousness-raising movie that I wish was a little better, but is admirable for the notion that racial antagonism is unconsciously learned behavior that can only be combatted with greater consciousness. Continue reading on the next page... 3) American Graffiti American identity as we know it today was largely forged in the 1950s, and proceeded to be challenged in the 60s and 70s. George Lucas, before creating one of the most beloved American movie franchises with Star Wars, directed one of the first films to look back on this era with nostalgic affection. It’s also probably one of the finest. The story takes place over the course of one evening, but this one night is meant to encapsulate the experience of an entire generation. This is done by creating almost the feel of an anthology movie—multiple plots that the movie cuts between featuring an adorable ensemble cast, including young stars by the names of Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Suzanne Somers. We witness teenage recklessness, sexual tension and frustration, drive-in burger joints with servers on roller skates, and lots of shiny cars. It’s as sentimental about 1950s America as Woody Allen is about 1920s Paris, and has the same magical quality to it. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie from the 1970s with quite as strong a sense of place, and it’s a place I want to inhabit. We feel nostalgic for it, as a representation of innocence, even if it’s not a period during which we were alive. Continue reading on the next page... 4) American Pie Sexual obsession in America is believed by some to be a symptom of historical repression dating back to the early Europeans who settled/usurped the land: the Puritans. So naturally, American movies that take on this taboo topic, especially when it comes to teenage sex, are maligned by the country’s puritanical heirs. In 1999, the movie that had the older generation clutching their pearls and the younger generation laughing their pearls off was American Pie, a coming of age story not completely unlike American Graffiti, but with a much more singular focus and a raunchier sensibility. It benefited from being made in a period where people were becoming more open with talking about sex out loud. Now we have shows like Masters of Sex on TV, which are all about graphic discussions and depictions of sexual acts, but the late 90s was a time when watching a dude stick his peen in a pie was incredibly risqué. And don’t even speak of Janet Jackson’s tit. People who love American Pie, and love it enough to tolerate countless sequels and spinoffs, hold it with as much affection as many hold John Hughes’ movies, and this is informative. Both speak to the teenage experience, and sexual frustration and release is a part of that experience, whether adults care to face this fact or not. Anything that’s this taboo is primed for the lampooning American Pie provides. Continue reading on the next page... 5) American Gangster From The Godfather to Scarface, business enterprise has been a recurring theme in the so-called Great American Story, someone who started at the bottom and is now, as the poets say, here. Another large part of the American Story, which has been explored by a couple excellent noteworthy films just this past year, is race, and so the story of drug kingpin Frank Lucas sews these threads together in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster. If the American Dream is about upward mobility, then the gangster’s rise from low level criminal to top of the heap is what dreams are made of, despite—maybe even because of—the necessity to operate outside the law. The protagonist played by Denzel Washington is a businessman, and his nemesis, played by Russell Crowe, is a cop trying to rise in the ranks the same way Lucas does. Their parallel and eventually intersecting storylines make the movie interesting, while the snappy directing by Scott makes it exciting and entertaining. Continue reading on the next page... 6) American Beauty It received numerous accolades the year it came out, and perhaps this is why there has been so much backlash towards American Beauty in the years since. I maintain that it is an excellent, excellent movie, one that predates American Psycho but shares many of its themes of self-misrepresentation and, more directly, the mistaken belief that the façade people wear is genuine. Kevin Spacey is now exalted for his ability to command our attention after the way he occupies the screen in House of Cards, addressing the audience directly while we (I don’t think it’s just me?) sit and watch in riveted silence. But American Beauty was one of his first opportunities to lead a story the way he does here, and he knocks it out of the park, mixing cynical, mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it-anymore humor with authentic pathos and disillusionment. I appreciate the way the movie sympathizes with the characters, though, rather than vilifying them. The villain is society. Even though it’s more complicated than that. It’s such a broad topic that “American” movies can really address any one of a wide range of defining characteristics of a country, perhaps of humanity, and by the simple trick of clever titling, will bring up questions of national identity. Whether it’s done to be tongue-in-cheek or more provocatively, it’s attention-grabbing. Or maybe it’s just to ensure that the movie gets placed close to the top of an alphabetized list. Do you have any favorite “American” movies you think belong on this list? Share your picks in the comments section and be sure to check out the trailer for David O. Russell's American Hustle below!