Dennis Hopper was probably a friend of James Dean, since he appeared in two of Dean's three films, Giant and Rebel Without a Cause. It's hard to tell about Hopper, because he went through so many changes over the years. In the fifties and early sixties, he was clean-cut and quiet. After Dean's death he started to acquire a rebellious streak, famously confronting director Henry Hathaway on the interpretation of a scene requiring 80 takes. It nearly destroyed Hopper's career early on, but John Wayne got Hopper on two other Hathaway westerns, and fences were mended in the Old West. Around the time one of those westerns (True Grit) came out, another film came out starring Hopper. It was Easy Rider, which Hopper also directed and co-wrote. Easy Rider basically changed all the rules in Hollywood due to its enormous success. It is in the wake of Easy Rider's success that The American Dreamer was made.

Hopper was an accomplished photographer in the sixties, having been published in Vogue and other magazines as well as doing extensive portrait work of people like Martin Luther King, Jane Fonda, Tina Turner, and Andy Warhol. Hopper was also an accomplished painter and a very successful art collector. All of this figures into the portrait of the man that comes out in The American Dreamer. Hopper was clearly being pulled in many directions by his impulses, including increasing abuse of drugs and alcohol. He was nothing if not multidimensional and was probably frequently lost in one of those other dimensions.

Fair warning, this comedy is much shorter than I was originally led to believe. The cover of this disc gives the deceitful impression that you audience will be treated to at least three performances and one host; however, as it turns out you must read the fine print, as this disc is merely Part 1. I am usually an advocate of the saying leave the people wanting more; however, that saying only applies when you have sufficiently hooked the audience, which this stand-up special fails to do, making the possibility of engaging in Part 2 very unlikely.

The first downfall for this special comes from the format, as the performances of the host as well as the comedian (the host is also a comedian; however, evidence of that remains unseen) are intercut between a recurring skit as well as what appears to be a tutorial in slang. The skit does prove to be entertaining in the first and last incarnation; however, its placement between comedy sets at first make it more of a nuisance than anything else. It would have likely been better received as a preshow or an aftershow addition rather than chopped up and injected throughout the runtime.

by Dustin P. Anderson

In case you are unfamiliar with the over all Transformers mythos, allow me to regale you for a spell. The Transformers are an alien race of sentient, transforming robots that have crash-landed on earth. After a long war with their bitter enemies the Decepticons on their home world of Cybertron, they find a new home here with human companions. Unfortunately, the Decepticons follow our intrepid heroes and bring the war from their home planet here to Earth as they search for the fuel of their race called Energon. In this collection of episodes, we are treated to the biggest, meanest enemies the Decepticons have ever created, and they prove to be some of the toughest battles for our heroes.