American Made - Review

One of the most satisfying feelings that I can get when watching a movie is when I go into a movie with fairly low expectations and then walking out completely in love. I mean, oh my god! Quite frankly, I did not expect to like this movie this much.

Now on paper, it has everything that I like all in one place. Tom Cruise, check. 1980's setting, check. A story about money laundering, check. Comedy, check. However, a film also came out the same year that had most of those same elements and it sucked. Anyone still remember the film "Gold"? No? Don't worry, you're not missing anything and to be fair, I have mostly forgotten about it myself.

What "American Made" did very well, especially compared to "Gold", is that it knew how to tell its story. Doug Liman knew how incredibly unbelievable and convaluted this true story was, so instead of playing it super dramatic, he decided that he could have some fun with it similar to how Martin Scorsese told the story in "The Wolf of Wall Street". Both stories are about Americans cheating the system to get filthy rich in very unethical ways. Now it's no secret that government jargon is super confusing to the average movie goer (myself included) and money laundering can be a headscratch worthy subject matter, but what makes it interesting and engaging is the humour. Out of nowhere, you will hear Tom Cruise say, "Now, this is the part of the story where you are thinking, "what the hell is going on?" As a matter of fact, in the moment, I was thinking the same thing. So let me break it down for you." These scenes not only catch the audience up to speed in the constantly changing scams, but it also adds another level of comedy to the film and a level of relatability to our main character. Even though Barry Seal and Jordan Belfort do many unethical things, both films are able to make them likeable, therefore making us invested in the story. "Gold" on the other hand took its plot way too seriously and had little to no relatability with the characters making it extremely difficult to actually care about what is happening on screen.

Tom Cruise is of course brilliant as always as he brings his love for aviation to screen again, but he brings his comedic chops which are always a welcome addition. The camera work and editing and cuts looked low budget, which made it seem even funnier. Can't exactly put my finger on it, but the free flowing cinematography gave the film a sense of realism to it. It seemed at times that there was no tripod on set during any of the shooting days, so the cameraman just filmed it all by freehand. It is subtle, but it adds a ton to the atmosphere and vibe of the movie.

I have seen this type of story before. Hard working American man finds a loophole in the American dream mentality and exploits it, gets super rich and bites off more than he can chew until he gets in trouble with the DEA, ATF, FBI, federal government, drug cartels, etc. Again, sounds like "The Wolf of Wall Street" right? While I did see many similarities between the two films, "American Made" finds a way to appear original, funny and entertaining all the way through. If a film can get me to go home from the theatre and actually do research about the real-life event that it showcased, then I'd say that the film did its job of sucking me into the story extremely well. "American Made" is one of the best films of its year and gets an easy recommendation from me.