The American Dream

When the final version of Mike Jones' The American Dream landed at the end of 2007 it looked nothing like what was promised the previous spring. That American Dream was supposed to be a full-length album and the big follow-up to his mega-successful Who Is Mike Jones?, but after two singles that fell flat on their face, someone changed the plans. The final product ends up being a thrown together EP plus a DVD featuring The American Dream movie, a full-length feature that's all heart and no budget. It clocks in at 90 minutes like a real Hollywood release, its dramatic pacing is spot-on, and it does shed some light on what drives Jones, but this low rent Get Rich or Die Trying is just too under funded and amateurish to convincingly deliver its extra large serving of pathos. At least the thing moves, as does the EP, which features the two misfired singles — the too-busy-for-radio "Mr. Jones" and the been-there-done-that "My 64." There's also the catchy new single "Turning Headz," which is far and away the highlight of the package, at least when comes to new music, since both "Still Tippin'" and "Back Then" are shamelessly thrown onto the end of the disc as high-profile filler.