Simon is a nihilistic punk rocker who wants to burn the world down. Patty is a painfully shy nerd who wants to go see her favorite band, PSYOPS. The two meet when Simon sprints past Patty on the street, and then she decides to keep quiet when the cops come looking for him. They strike up an unlikely friendship, with Patty not knowing that Simon is also “John Q.,” the mysterious masked singer of PSYOPS, and with Simon not knowing that Patty is also the freaky little superfan who has been sending him poetry and Polaroids.

Dinner in America is a punk-rock dark comedy that was criminally overlooked after its poorly timed premiere in January of 2020, but which has since gathered a devoted cult following. The movie is anarchic, vulgar, and hilarious, but at the same time, the romance at the heart of the film is refreshingly sincere and surprisingly moving. There were tears in the theatre when we saw it at TIFF in 2021. This is because, ultimately, Dinner in America is a story about standing up to bullies, boldly and unapologetically being your fucked-up weird self, and finding someone who matches your freak.

This February, Tromsø Filmklubb dares you to take a chance: tell your neurodivergent crush how you feel and invite them to dinner, Dinner in America.

“- Do you think I’m weird?
- Oh yeah no, you’re fuckin’ weird.
- Well, is weird cool?”

DINNER IN AMERICA
DINNER IN AMERICA
USA 2020
Regi: Adam Carter Rehmeier
Medv: Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs, Griffin Gluck, Pat Healy, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Spilletid: 108 min
Språk: Engelsk (norsk tekst)
Aldersgrense: 12 år
Omtale: Mike Murphy

Trivia
The song “Watermelon” that fueled the film’s 2024 viral revival was co-written by actress Emily Skeggs and director Adam Rehmeier in one day during rehearsals.