Dinner in America is a 2020 indie film starring Emily Skeggs and Kyle Gallner, directed and written by Adam Rehiemer. The movie could be classified as a coming-of-age, dark comedy, romance, and melodramatic. Set in 1990s Midwestern America, filming took place in Detroit, Michigan, and took about 25 days, which is reportedly long for an indie film.
Okay, quick summary; the film follows Patty, a 20-year-old sheltered and quirky female manchild, and Simon, a fugitive pyromaniac and lead singer in his punk band, Psyops, under the alias John Q. He’s on the run and trying to find somewhere to stay, while also trying to support his addiction and keep his band as authentically punk as possible. Patty wants to see her favorite band, Psyops, but her parents won’t let her. She relentlessly gets harassed every time she gets on the bus, and she just got fired from her job at the pet store. The pair bump into each other in the alley behind Patty’s former job, she recognizes Simon from the college class they both used to take together, and their adventures start there. Simon stays at Patty’s house, and Patty unknowingly reveals to John Q (Simon) that she sends her “music boyfriend,” John Q, “love poems” and photos of herself every week. Simon helps Patty humiliate her bullies, Simon takes Patty to “tough guy” her last paycheck out of her old boss, and Simon takes Patty to the arcade, which Patty thanks Simon for after since it was “like the best day ever.” Of course, they’re falling in love throughout all of this. Eventually, Simon tells Patty that he’s John Q. After revealing that Simon is John Q, he tells Patty how much he loves her poems and that they’re more like “powerful pop songs” than poems. That’s when they make their song “Watermelon” in Simon’s parents’ basements. There’s an awkward dinner with Simon’s family and finally, it’s time for Patty to see her music boyfriend, John Q, at the Psyops show. Simon and his band perform while Patty is in the crowd watching him. She screams and cheers for him, especially when he dedicates a song to his “music girlfriend.” The show is cut short when the cops show up and arrest Simon. Patty and Simon have a moment before he’s hauled off where Patty confirms she’s Simon’s real girlfriend. As a kind of epilogue, we see Simon’s life in prison where he makes music, writes to Patty, and has an odd cellmate. Patty is now proudly as “weird” as she pleases, stands up for herself to the people who made fun of her before, and is now also known as Jane Q.
This is an odd film for odd people and I can’t get it out of my head. The cinematics and aesthetics are lovely and visually interesting, the dialogue is blunt, funny, and real, the characters are weird, quirky, and have their lovable flaws, and the dynamic between a “weird” girl and a boy who actually loves her for her is very heartwarming to see. On the topic of lovable flaws, I admire that Simon’s character isn’t meant to be liked. He’s rude, disrespectful, and not conventionally attractive, but you like him because of the way he treats and loves Patty. Not to mention, the soundtrack, including “Watermelon,” is phenomenal. I love it, my friends love it, the internet loves it, and if you like to watch Road Kill and send your celebrity crush letters, you probably will too. Dinner in America is free to watch on Hulu.
