''American Son'' is a 2008

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Neil Abramson and starring

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host ''The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's G ...

Melonie Diaz Melonie Diaz (born April 25, 1984) is an American film and television actress who has appeared in many independent films, including four shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. She received Independent Spirit Awards nominations for performance ...

and

Matt O'Leary Matthew Joseph O'Leary (born July 6, 1987) is an American actor. He made his debut in the made-for-television Disney Channel Original film ''Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire'' (2000), and would go on to star in the thriller ''Domestic Disturbance' ...

. The film follows a young man, Mike (Cannon) as he returns home to

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

for Thanksgiving leave. Mike faces telling his friends and family of his nearby deployment to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

while dealing with a troublesome home life. It competed in the Dramatic Competition at the

2008 Sundance Film Festival The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was ''In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''. Films ...

Plot

A 19-year-old who has enlisted to go to Iraq falls in love with a girl, but is afraid that he might not come back alive. A young Marine named Mike (Nick Cannon) is shipping out for uncertain fortunes in Iraq, and has 4 days left to visit back home in Bakersfield California. The story is about his parting relationships with his best friend Jake (Matt O'Leary), a new girlfriend Christina (Melonie Diaz), his mother Donna (April Grace), and father Eddie (Chi McBride) over these 96 hours. None of these people initially knows he's shipping out, and each of the significant other's reactions to this news, one-on-one with Mike, make up the bulk of the story. The story also gives some insight into Mike's motives as to why he enlisted in the first place.

References

External links

* * 2008 films 2000s war drama films American independent films Iraq War films American war drama films 2008 independent films 2008 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{war-drama-film-stub