Americana

"Americana" is the story of a small town somewhere in South Dakota. We meet a large group of eccentric characters -- among them thug Dillon, his girlfriend Mandy and her little brother Cal (who claims he is the reincarnation of Sitting Bull), stuttering waitress Penny Jo, and goofy but kind-hearted vet Lefty. A very valuable Native American artifact goes onto the black market and the chase for it becomes wild and violent involving the folk I just mentioned and many others...

"Americana" is clearly an attempt to emulate Tarantino. And for a while, it does a really good job. The stories and timelines all intertwine nicely. The characters are engaging and the performances are solid (especially Paul Walter Hauser and Sydney Sweeney, who make Lefty and Penny Jo a charming and quirky pairing). However, about 2/3 of the way through, writer/director Tony Tost seems to run out of idea so it's just "everybody shoots." It sort of peters out at the end, which is a shame, since a killer ending would have really elevated this flick.

Overall though, in a world of IP and huge budget messes, "Americana" is a breath of fresh air. Not perfect by any length, but still pretty entertaining and definitely worth checking out and supporting.

There are enough likeable characters here with own special quirks - country music and reincarnation obsessions, art theft and cultural appropriation - to make "Americana" a fun late summer journey to the movies. Sydney Sweeney before she was involved in any eugenics controversy, Halsey, and Paul Walter Hauser along with a great Zahn McClarnon all offer something interesting, sort of like "Nashville" and "Thunderheart" thrown in a blender. It along with "Eddington" give hope that a kind of revival of nineties indie cinema might be around the corner, or at least before the next Superman reboot.

Hold your hats cause she's going to be around for awhile.

No politics or pandering or shoving stupidity down peoples throats here just alot of fun! If Hollyweird would just go back to making movies about REAL people and not blue haired Tiktok weirdos? They'd make alot more money thats for sure.

Americana is worth a watch!

An ensemble cast of peculiar characters all struggling to possess a valuable native American artifact. They mostly have zero experience in the criminal side of society and are laughably bad trying to learn.

The story is told in chapters, Tarantino style. Unlike Tarantino, all but one of the chapters are told in linear order, so apart from the change of character the chapters are meaningless.

Another difference from Tarantino is that the characters are left somewhat cartoonish. Not 2 dimensional, but not deeply developed either. It would be easy to add 30 minutes delving into the characters backstory and getting us more invested in their story arc. But that would get gritty and unpleasant in a way this movie doesn't want. In particular with the father character and those at his house.

I had not looked at the body of work for writer, director Tony Tost. But looking now I see Pokerface, The Terror, and a host of other good shows. He's made another winner here. There's also mention of a Forrest Whitaker movie in the dialogue, I need to look that up.

Best performances go to Zahn McClarnon, Gavin Maddox Bergmen, and Sydney Sweeney, in that order. Zahn and Gavin get a good amount of screen time together and those are some of the best moments in the movie.

I'm between giving this a 7 or 8. I will go with 8 because it appears the recent Jean ad featuring Ms Sweeney has provoked some people into dumping 1 star reviews here. My biggest complaint would be the title, which seems to suggest the movie will reflect core American values. It doesn't. It is set in the heartland (south dakota) and lovingly filmed in and around albuquerque, but that alone doesn't warrant a title of that significance.

I very rarely leave reviews for movies, but after sitting through this one, I felt strongly that I should share my experience so that others don't make the same mistake I did. To put it simply, this movie was one of the most disappointing, poorly acted, and downright frustrating films I have ever watched. I went in with the hope that maybe it would surprise me, or at the very least provide a few moments of entertainment, but instead I left feeling like I had wasted not just my money but, more importantly, my time.

The biggest and most glaring issue was the acting. None of the actors or actresses seemed to have any actual talent for bringing their characters to life. Every line delivery felt forced, flat, or overly exaggerated. There was no emotional depth, no sense of timing, and certainly no believability. It almost felt like the cast was reading directly from the script without even attempting to embody their roles. Good acting can sometimes save a weak story, but when the performers themselves seem uninterested or incapable, it makes sitting through the film unbearable.

There were moments that were supposed to be dramatic or moving, but the actors failed completely at creating any emotional connection. Instead of feeling invested in the characters' struggles or triumphs, I was left completely detached, watching people pretend rather than perform. The comedic attempts were equally painful. Jokes fell flat, reactions were awkward, and the timing was consistently off. If the filmmakers wanted to create a serious film, they missed the mark. If they were aiming for humor, that was nowhere to be found either. The end result was a mess that didn't succeed in any genre.

Another problem was the lack of chemistry between the cast members. Good films, even mediocre ones, often benefit from the way actors interact with one another. Here, it was the opposite. Every interaction felt wooden and unnatural, like strangers reading lines in a high school play. Relationships that were meant to be deep or meaningful felt shallow and unconvincing. Romantic moments had no spark, dramatic confrontations lacked intensity, and even casual conversations sounded stilted and fake.

What made this even worse was the writing. While I can forgive a weak script if the actors elevate it, here the bad writing combined with poor acting created a perfect storm of mediocrity. Dialogue was clunky, predictable, and sometimes even laughable in the worst way. It's hard to understand how such poorly written lines made it into the final cut of a film that was released in theaters. A talented cast might have salvaged some of the writing, but paired with such uninspired performances, the result was catastrophic.

I also have to comment on the pacing. The movie dragged from start to finish. Scenes went on far too long, with no tension, no buildup, and no payoff. I found myself checking the time repeatedly, hoping it would be close to over, only to realize there was still nearly an hour left. When a movie makes you wish for the credits to roll long before it ends, that is the surest sign it has failed.

To be fair, the cinematography and set design weren't completely terrible. There were a few shots that looked visually appealing, and the technical side of the production wasn't a complete disaster. But even decent visuals can't compensate for lifeless acting, hollow characters, and a story that feels like it was slapped together with no effort. A movie needs heart, vision, and talent to make an impact, and this one had none of those things.

When I left the theater, I couldn't shake the frustration of knowing I had just spent two hours of my life on something that had no redeeming qualities. Movies are supposed to entertain, inspire, or at least make you feel something. This movie did the opposite. It drained any excitement I had, left me annoyed, and made me question how it was ever greenlit in the first place.

In short, this was an extreme waste of time. The actors had no talent, the story was flat, and the overall execution was shockingly bad. I cannot stress this enough: avoid this movie at all costs. Don't waste your money, don't waste your time, and don't go in hoping to find even a guilty pleasure in watching something "so bad it's good." This movie doesn't even qualify for that. It's not entertaining in any way-it's just painfully, excruciatingly dull and incompetent.

There are far better options available, whether at AMC or anywhere else. With so many films competing for our attention today, there is no reason to sit through something as uninspired and talentless as this. If you value your time, if you care at all about storytelling, or if you simply want to be entertained for an evening, please do yourself a favor and choose something else.

This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, and I say that without exaggeration. I would never recommend it to anyone, not even as background noise. It is the definition of a movie that should be skipped.

Zero stars if I could give it that.