"" This American dream is influenced by the community in which Caroline lives because she tailors her life to fit into the mold of what she believes is the perfect woman. In pretending to be the perfect woman, Caroline is not only trying to convince the people in her community; she is also trying to convince herself. .
Another character that pretends to be living her American dream is Angela. Being a blond-haired cheerleader, society expects her to be the sexy girl next door, which she is. While watching her talk to Jane, we learn that Angela's American dream is to be a model. She has already appeared in magazines and often brags to Jane about how she has sex with a lot of guys and that she always notices guys staring at her. Much like Caroline, Angela pretends to be living her dream in an attempt to convince herself that she is. She does not want to realize, as Ricky tells her at the end of the movie, that she is ordinary. The stories of sexual encounters that she makes up, in addition to hanging out with Angela, are done in order to make herself feel less ordinary and be what she is expected to be. In this society, she is pressured to be a popular girl that every guy fantasizes about and has sex with many guys. Much like Caroline, Angela is striving to fit the expectations that society has set for her.
Lester and Ricky are somewhat the opposites of Caroline and Angela. Instead of wishing to fitting into the mold which society has set for them, Lester and Ricky wish to be different. Being the son of a retired military officer, Ricky is expected to be disciplined and structured. We quickly learn that he is anything but. Although many people may consider Ricky weird and at least somewhat creepy, he is simply living out his American dream. This dream is to spend his time enjoying the beautiful things in the world. Although he sells marijuana, he is not a pot-head; he simply does this in order to pay for his love for videotaping life.