Living the Dream (2006)

0% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(810 ratings)

Their lives going nowhere fast, two middle-aged friends from Los Angeles start up their own business in a bid to gain the respect of their friends and colleagues. As young children, Brenda (Sean Young) and her immigrant friend Jonathan (Christian Schoyen) were bullied mercilessly. Now they're… More Their lives going nowhere fast, two middle-aged friends from Los Angeles start up their own business in a bid to gain the respect of their friends and colleagues. As young children, Brenda (Sean Young) and her immigrant friend Jonathan (Christian Schoyen) were bullied mercilessly. Now they're adults, and not much has changed. In an attempt to get their lives on track, they take a shot at the American Dream. But while owning your own business is easy, getting to the top in a city like L.A. is nearly impossible. Seduced by the prospect of success and caught up dreams of fast cars and fat bank accounts, Brenda and Jonathan quickly realize that they don't know the first thing about running their own business. When their latest client Chuck (Danny Trejo) discovers they've been living the dream on his dime, the two friends are in for a rude awakening. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Allan Fiterman, Christian Schoyen
Written By: Christian Schoyen
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 24, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Aug 25, 2009
Studio: Arthouse Distribution

Critic Reviews

Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times
There is undeniable heart in Living the Dream, with its implicit criticism of mercenary values, but its world is populated solely by hustlers, recruiters and salesmen with nothing to sell.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
A vapid mess that outwardly looks like a theatrical movie but just careens around from sequence to disconnected sequence like a badly tarted-up pinball.
Chad Greene, Boxoffice Magazine
"Will you stick with me, no matter what?" Brenda asks on more than one occasion. Unfortunately for the filmmakers, the audience's answer may well be "no."
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
This vanity production ... seems to want us to sympathize with characters who are both unlikable and stupid. Where at the beginning I thought the level of abuse [the hero] endures was absurd and unrealistic, by the end I wanted to join in.
James C. Taylor, L.A. Weekly
An embarrassment of a vanity project.