【電影簡介】

電影開始于80年代，成東青（黃曉明飾演），農村出身的土鱉，兩次高考落敗，眼看就要屈服于當農民的命運，他最后一搏，背下整本英文字典，從明眸變成近視眼，第三次試考，考上燕大；孟曉駿（鄧超飾演），精英知識分子，強烈自信，內心認定自己永遠是最優秀的那個。王陽（佟大為飾演），八十年代的浪漫派，樣子俊朗，熱愛文學，一生夢想是當個詩人。這樣三個各走極端的人在燕大相遇，戲劇性的建立友誼，共同走過人生的變化。

三人跟八十年代莘莘學子一樣，懷抱著一個美國夢。申請簽證的結果是：兩個成功，一個被拒。

孟曉駿成功留學美國，準備要一展抱負，卻未料在美國根本找不著工作，助教任務只當了不久就辭去，只得在餐館當侍應助理；理想與現實的沖擊，讓他重新去審視自己。

王陽簽證成功，卻因一個一見鐘情的美國女孩放棄出國，貫徹其浪漫派個性；

成東青簽證被拒，眼看兩個好友出國完夢，他只有留在燕大任教，卻又因在外私自授課，被校方發現，央求悔罪仍被除名，毫無余地的成為一個真正的“失敗者”。一無所有的成東青，只有偷偷在肯德基辦英語補習班，其獨特的自嘲教學法，漸漸吸引了不少學生。這是命運的安排，亦是成就他人生中最成功的契機。

補習班漸成規模，成東青請王陽加入一起辦補習班。同時，成東青邀請孟曉駿加盟，正式開辦“新夢想”學校。三人憑借個人魅力，包括成東青的自嘲式幽默教學法，孟曉駿的美國經驗和簽證技巧，以及王陽的創新電影教學，讓新夢想空前成功。

新夢想再擴規模，成東青被媒體和青年塑造成為留學教父，不由自控的散發著一股從土鱉蛻變成領導者的光芒，讓孟曉駿看不過去，二人漸漸貌合神離，王陽左右做人難。

孟曉駿遠走沈陽，三人的友情面臨重重考驗。然而時代卻有著一幕又一幕的挑戰，包括1999年南斯拉夫中國大使館被北約軍機轟炸、還有ETS美國普林斯出版社控告新夢想侵犯版權，又把三人再次凝聚起來，共同面對新夢想的困境。

【音頻文本】

The film "American Dreams in China" is Hong Kong director Peter Chan's first attempt at a contemporary drama. Based on the story that he adopts, I guess he was going after David Finch and "The Social Network," but what he really delivered is a hollow story without a spirit.

Like Finch, Chan tells the success story of insignificant nobodies. In this case, it is about a Chinese teacher who became one of China's wealthiest men through his English-language tutorial centers. Apart from the title, the word "dream" is brought up several times in the movie, which is very much in line with Chan's obsession with the topic. But, two of the major characters in the story showed no dream at all. The onlyone who dreamt of going to the US couldn't produce a reasonable explanation for his eagerness, and at the end of the day he was disillusioned and had to return to China.

Rather than dreams, it seems to be a movie about friendship. The joint efforts of three friends bring success to their business, but once they've succeeded, difference of opinions sends them on separate ways.

Even on the topic of friendship, the movie failed to offer a complete story. For example, not enough is done to describe the establishment and development of their friendship, so when one of them leaves for the US, the eruption of emotion comes as a surprise to the audience.

One explanation for the weak story is perhaps the director has placed too much focus on reproducing what it looked like in the 1980s and years after that. In this respect, the movie is more efficient than anotherrecent Chinese movie "So Young." The images of deserted factory buildings and enamel cups almost immediately bring the audience back in time.

However, the elaborately-arranged setting is undermined by ineffective cinematography. My immediately impression of the movie is its shaky and stifling pictures, and I was very surprised to find out that they were actually filmed by Christopher Doyle. Maybe, like Peter Chan, he just wasn't used to filming contemporary dramas.

The last straw that broke the camel's back is the acting, or more specifically the dubbing. Actor Huang Xiaoming has always been ridiculed for his English pronunciation. His role as the owner of the English-language tutorial business gives his enemies even more ammunition. Honestly, I would be able to understand his lines without the Chinese subtitles.

So, all things add up, "American Dreams in China" appears to be a failed attempt, and deserves no more than four on a scale of one to 10.

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