American Beauty
Rated: R
CAST: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch,
Peter Gallagher, Scott Bakula, Sam Robards, Matthew
Kimbrough, Chris Cooper, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari,
Allison Janney, Amber Smith, Phil Hawn
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
SYNOPSIS:
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) lives an
every-man life filled with misery. "Both my wife and
daughter think I'm this gigantic loser," he quips.
His boss is about to give him the axe. His marriage to
Carolyn (Annette Bening), a real estate agent, is just
for show. His daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is experiencing
more that just the typical teenage resentment of her
father, as she rightfully points out to him: "You've
barely even spoken to me for months."
Lester's answer is to make a drastic change in his
lifestyle. He blackmails his boss out of nearly $60,000,
buys the car that he has always wanted, develops a secret
crush on his daughter's best friend, starts smoking dope,
and gets a job that he truly enjoys: flipping burgers at
a fast food restaurant.
Before long, Jane takes a liking to her new neighbor and
classmate, Ricky (Wes Bentley), whose quiet and deeply
observant habits test the attention span of Angela Hayes,
Jane's best friend. As Jane and Ricky develop into a
couple, Angela fades away into a world of infinite
loneliness.
REVIEW:
 American Beauty is
a sitcom on the surface, but a remarkable social
commentary laced with dark humor and thorough character
development can be found just below. Kevin Spacey gives a
performance - in what may be one of the great films of
our time - that will surely garner him an Academy Award
nomination.
The role of Lester Burnham is an extraordinarily tough
one. It exhibits feelings of pedophilia, obsession, and
carelessness; just to name a few. Kevin Spacey does it
all, thus creating a believable character and delivering
an amazing performance that is one of the finest in
memory. Annette Bening and the rest of the cast all do a
sound job and play their parts credibly.
The title of the film is as thought-provoking as its
subjects. Is American Beauty a reference to the rose
garden which Carolyn cherishes? Could it be Angela Hayes,
the blond haired and blue eyed cheerleader that lives in
constant fear or being ordinary? Most likely, it is a
reference to what director Sam Mendes and writer Alan
Ball are trying to show is the impossible dream.
LAST WORD:
Two types of people will see this movie.
One will see it as a humorous, out-of-the-ordinary
sitcom. For them, it is entertainment worth the price
of admission. The other group will not only see those
qualities, but the deep symbolic themes that lie
between the lines. For them, the two hours will be
priceless.
CREDITS:
Mac VerStandig of MovieThing.com
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