Agnes Bruckner plays Audrey, a self-sacrificing friend and daughter. Audrey dreams of leaving the Dreamland cocoon and experiencing life. Instead of acting on her college and life's desires, she puts herself at the disposal of others (her devastated, widowed father and her chronically ill best friend).Pragmatically speaking, she simply has to nudge her dad out of his comfort zone. Teach him how to live again by dragging him out of the trailer and going places - initially with her. Like many challenges in personal relationships, this is easier said than done because feelings trump practicality.In the end the father helps himself in order to help his daughter. When he finds her letters of acceptance to the various colleges that she has kept hidden from him, he realizes he MUST step-up, and transform from being Audrey's dependent to being her dad. This is a very satisfying Dad and Daughter movie with an interesting cast, nice music and scenery.

..."Dreamland" showcases a number of rising young talents both in front of and behind the camera. Neophyte director Jason Matzner (who is this guy and why isn't he at work on a new project?) breathes life and beauty into Tom "nobody's heard of me, either" Willett's freshman screenplay with grace and love, ably assisted by DP Jonathan "The Omen 2006" Sela's evocative camera-work and a winning cast. Agnes "Blood and Chocolate" Bruckner plays Audrey, a young writer fresh out of high school who seems tied to her role of caregiver to a grief-paralyzed father (John "Northern Exposure" Corbett) and her best friend Calista (Kelli "Thumbsucker" Garner), who suffers from MS and dreams of being the next Miss America. The arrival of Mookie (Justin "Live Free or Die Hard" Long), gives rise to a love triangle that eventually leads to Audrey's freeing herself from a self-imposed martyrdom. Though perhaps overly sentimental and a little too neatly wrapped-up at story's end, "Dreamland" remains an effective coming-of-age film, and one that is significantly superior to most of its big-budget competition. Bruckner and Garner shine as young adults aching to shed their adolescent skins, Long rises above his physical miscasting (UNLV basketball prospect? I think not), and Corbett and the rest of the supporting cast handle their roles with an easy naturalness. I found myself drawn into the unlikely trailer park community of "Dreamland" despite myself, and wanting to know what happened to its residents after all was said and done. Though far from a classic, "Dreamland" is certainly worth a watch, if only to see Bruckner and Garner strut their stuff amidst the gorgeous New Mexico scenery.

Who cast this movie? First off, Justin Long seems like a nice enough fellow, but a college basketball prospect? He's about 30 years old, 5'6'' and 125 pounds. And how come a trailer park has so many nice looking residents around? I'd move there! I don't mean to trash trailer parks, but statistically speaking, over 50% of the residents could not be that attractive in just about any place. It's a shame the casting is so poor because the film had potential. I love how John Corbett suddenly overcomes his "ailment" at the end of the film without a hitch. I wonder why the actors did not tell the director about altering some of these scenes, but then, if you're going to have Justin Long cast as basketball stud, I suppose no one either cared or was paying attention. Still, if you can get by all of the setbacks (maybe a miraculous intervention or drunken flurry?), Dreamland just might be entertaining enough for you.

This is an introspective film about a young girl named Audrey. Her mother has died, her father is agoraphobic, and her best friend is struggling with her health as well. They live in a beautiful area of New Mexico, but their home is a dismal trailer park. Audrey would like to escape this dead end life but sees no way out since most of the people she loves depend on her. This movie is about her (and their) journey to discover how they can escape their ruts.The film is well made; the characters are all well developed, and Agnes Bruckner, John Corbett (in a big departure from his usual persona) and Justin Long (among others!!) all do a great job portraying their respective characters.Unfortunately, this film won't reach a wide audience, but for what it's worth, I enjoyed it.