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American Dreamz Satire of politics and show business, centering on a national obsession – an obsession that reaches all the way to the White House – with an “American Idol”-like reality series. Written and directed by Paul Weitz (“About a Boy,” “In Good Company”). With Hugh Grant (“Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,”), Dennis Quaid (“Yours, Mine and Ours”), Mandy Moore (“Saved”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Bad News Bears”), Chris Klein (“Just Friends”), John Cho (“In Good Company”), Judy Greer (“Elizabethtown”), Jennifer Coolidge (“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Date Movie”), Seth Meyers (TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), Shohreh Aghdashloo (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) and Willem Dafoe (“Manderlay,” “Inside Man”). Flat. PG-13: Brief strong language; some sexual references. April 21. Universal.     The Benchwarmers Comedy about three friends who missed out on playing baseball in their youths and form a three-man team to compete in the local little league. Directed by Dennis Dugan (“Saving Silverman,” “National Security”) from a screenplay by the “Grandma’s Boy” team of Allen Covert (“Eight Crazy Nights”) and Nick Swardson (“Malibu’s Most Wanted”). With David Spade (“Grandma’s Boy”), Rob Schneider (“Grandma’s Boy”), Jon Heder (“Just Like Heaven”), Jon Lovitz (“The Producers: The Movie Musical”), Adam Sandler (“The Longest Yard”), Molly Sims (“Starsky & Hutch”) and Craig Kilborn (“Old School,” “The Shaggy Dog”). Flat. April 7. Sony.     The Death of Mr. Lazarescu Romanian-language comedy-drama about an aged man who sees his health steadily deteriorate after he falls ill and is shuttled – untreated – between doctors, hospitals and diagnoses. Directed by Cristi Puiu from a screenplay by Puiu and Razvan Radulescu. With Ion Fiscuteanu, Doru Ana, Monica Barladeanu, Doru Boguta, Dragos Bucur and Mimi Branescu. 153 min. April 26. Tartan.       Flight 93 Drama about the doomed passengers aboard the Sept. 11, 2001 United Airlines flight who attempted to take back their plane from terrorists. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass (“Bloody Sunday,” “The Bourne Supremacy”). With David Rasche (“Just Married”), Kate Jennings Grant (“Kinsey,” “When A Stranger Calls”), Leigh Zimmerman (“Proof”), Alan Basche (“War of the Worlds”), Susan Blommaert (“Kinsey”), Liza Colón-Zayas (“Heights”), Rebecca Schull (“Analyze That”), Corey Johnson (“Hellboy”), Denny Dillon (“Seven Minutes in Heaven”) and Marceline Hugot (“Uptown Girls”). Scope. April 28. Universal.     Friends WIth Money Comedy-drama about a thirtysomething single woman whose three best friends are married and much wealthier than she. Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener (“Walking and Talking,” “Lovely & Amazing”). With Jennifer Aniston (“Rumor Has It”), Joan Cusack (“Ice Princess”), Catherine Keener (“Capote”), Frances McDormand (“Aeon Flux”), Scott Caan (“Into The Blue”), Greg Germann (“Sweet November”), K.C. Clyde (“The Best Two Years”) and Bobby Coleman. April 7 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics.     Hard Candy Drama about a 32-year-old man who brings home a 14-year-old girl he met on the Internet, only to discover the girl has a previously undisclosed agenda. Video director David Slade (Stone Temple Pilots’ “Sour Girl”) makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Brian Nelson (TV’s “JAG”). With Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson (“Phantom of the Opera”), Sandra Oh (“Sideways”), Jennifer Holmes and Gilbert John. Scope. 103 min. R: Disturbing violent and aberrant sexual content involving a teen; language. April 14. Lionsgate. Akeelah and the Bee Drama about a talented 11-year-old girl who overcomes the difficulties of her South Los Angeles environment to follow her dream of competing in the National Spelling Bee. Doug Atchison makes his directorial debut from his own screenplay. With Keke Palmer (“Barbershop 2: Back in Business”), Angela Bassett (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), Laurence Fishburne (“Assault on Precinct 13”), Eddie Steeples (“Torque”), Jeff Marlow, Curtis Armstrong (“Man of the House”) and Sara Niemietz. Scope. PG: Some language. April 28. Lionsgate.   Art School Confidential Comedy about an art student who realizes the best route to celebrity status – and the coed he covets – is posing as a dangerous criminal. The “Ghost World” team of director Terry Zwigoff (“Bad Santa”) and novelist-screenwriter Daniel Clowes reunite. With Max Minghella (“Syriana”), John Malkovich (“The Libertine”), Sophia Myles (“Tristan & Isolde”), Jim Broadbent (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”), Anjelica Huston (“The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”) and Chris McKenna (“In & Out”). R: Language including sexual references; nudity; a scene of violence. April 28 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony.   Clean English-, French- and Cantonese-language drama about a methadone-addicted ex-VJ who – after serving a 6-month prison term for facilitating her rock-star husband’s fatal heroin overdose – sets out to regain custody of her son. Directed by Olivier Assayas (“Les Destinees,” “Demonlover”) from a screenplay by Assayas, Malachy Martin and Sarah Perry. With Maggie Cheung (“2046”), Nick Nolte (“The Beautiful Country”), Don McKellar (“The Event”), Beatrice Dalle (“The Time of the Wolf”) and Remi Martin (“Les Destinees”). 111 min. R: Drug content; language; brief nudity. April 14. Palm Pictures.     Fierce People Drama about 16-year-old who finds himself running with a much more affluent crowd when his cocaine-addicted mother is invited to move onto the estate of her wealthy, much-older boyfriend. Directed by Griffin Dunne (“Practical Magic,” “Famous”) from a screenplay by Dirk Wittenborn. With Diane Lane (“Must Love Dogs”), Elizabeth Perkins (“Must Love Dogs”), Donald Sutherland (“Pride and Prejudice,” “Ask the Dust”), Kristen Stewart (“Zathura”) and Anton Yelchin (“House of D”). Flat. 112 min. R: Language; drug use; sexuality/nudity; some violence. April 21 limited. Lionsgate.     Free Zone Drama about three women – one American, one Israeli and one Palestinian – who are thrown together by circumstance and become traveling companions in a remote area of Jordan. Directed by Amos Gitai from a screenplay by Gitai & Marie-Jose Sanselme. With Natalie Portman (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” “V for Vendetta”), Hana Laszlo, Hiam Abbass (“Munich”), Carmen Maura, Aki Avni, Uri Klauzner and Makram Khoury (“Munich”). 90 min. April 7 in New York. New Yorker.     Guys & Balls German-language comedy about a young soccer player who – banned from his team because of his sexual preference – forms a new, all-homosexual team to meet his old team in a grudge match. Directed by Sherry Horman from a script by Benedikt Gollhardt. Starring Maximilian Brückner, Lisa Maria Potthoff and Rolf Zacher. 106 min. April 14 limited. Regent.