Rating: 
Summary: Not bad - for Hollywood
Review: This film reminded me of the kind of movies that Hollywood turned out in the early seventies. The formula went kind of like this: American Dream turns to middle class nightmare / Dad smokes pot, grows his hair long & gets fired / Mom moves to a commune in New Mexico. Bruce Dern starred in about 200 of these flicks. American Beauty sticks fairly close to this formula with a few twists thrown in. Kevin Spacey is so convincing that he's spooky. AB is similar in many ways to "Happiness", an independent film that was released about two years ago. Both share the same doomed outlook towards their protagonists. Summary: Worth seeing if only for the fact that Hollywood rarely makes (or recognizes with awards) dark films.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Twisted, But........
Review: I found this movie to be a little twisted and strange in some parts, quite funny in other parts, but overall the ending made up for it. Had it not been for the end, this would have been a 3-star movie, hands down. But the end was phenomenal and put the whole movie in perspective. It also has a great fundamental life lesson to it: Don't take a moment for granted. I highly recommend it, but only if you're an intelligent movie-goer. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Many missed the point...LOOK CLOSER!
Review: American Beauty is truly one of my favorite movies of the past year. i think many who did not like the movie absolutely MISSED THE POINT, which is summed up in the last 5 or 10 minutes of the movie. i was so stirred by the ending of it. i first was confused by much of the film...did i like it? did i hate it? when the final scenes finally played out, i was PROFOUNDLY stirred. i was literally speechless, as was everyone else who left that theater after i saw the film. i recommend it.yes, it's quirky, even pretentious at times. but guess what? AREN'T WE ALL?
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally sublime, flawless filmmaking and acting.
Review: By the end of American Beauty, I knew that in whatever evaluations I might articulate about the film, this was one case where I can't pretend to have any kind of objectivity. The emotional impact of this film on me was so great that I felt personally affected, a rarity when I watch a film these days. No character of any weight is neglected in this film, each with a carefully considered arc and deep-welled needs and desires that make you care. Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham brings to life the complex psychosexual dilemmas of the character effortlessly, with his trademark offbeat charisma and wit; Wes Bentley, with his penetrating stare and sensitive characterization, brings a tenderness and nuance to the oddball-kid-next-door role of Ricky Fitts; Thora Birch projects deep maturity as Jane, clarifying every internal change her character goes through as she starts becoming drawn to Ricky to leave her family behind; Mena Suvari joins the ranks of Katie Holmes and Sarah Polley as a young actress to watch for, injecting remarkably depth and absolute honesty to the role of Angela; even an antagonist like Col. Fitts is filled by an excellent portrayal in Chris Cooper's performance, a wrenching mix of hardened hatreds and shattering vulnerability. The only character that was questionable to me was Annette Bening's, where I actually feel like Carolyn's private moments (where we're supposed to be able to poke through her mask) are also not believable. However, given so many other moving moments, points of delicious humour, and visually gorgeous cinematography, I didn't really care. And aesthetically this is a feast for the senses: Conrad L. Hall's acclaimed cinematography both makes the actors and scenery look good and help probe into the life within them, and Thomas Newman's score is perfect, as light-fingered as director Sam Mendes' staging and tone, as delicate as the performances, as witty and suggestive as Alan Ball's multi-layered, richly evocative script, and as beautiful as the visuals. This film soared to the top of my best-of lists right after I saw it, ranking alongside diverse favourites I've seen over the years including GoodFellas, The Killer, Manon of the Spring, Fun, and Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior. American Beauty is every bit their equal in terms of visual sophistication, performances and craft, while surpassing them all in its quest for emotional catharsis and engagement.
Rating: 
Summary: American Beauty-Tepid, Drab and Humorless
Review: Well, that may not be entirely accurate. I shouldn't say that this movie was a HUGE disappointment, simply because I went in with no expectations. And am I qualified to fully review?--since I was so bored with this film that I walked out of the screening room after an hour? Maybe not. But I will say this: AM has been called a sharp black comedy, commenting on current American values. I didn't find the film particularly funny or insightful (sorry folks--'King of Comedy' and 'Little Murders' w/Elliot Gould still have more to say about American 'values' than this picture); I didn't find the story particularly compelling (it reads more like a quiet, suburban soap opera); and the performances didn't quite jell (the actors all performed as if in different films, seperate from each other). To their credit, Spacey (far better in t.v.'s WISEGUY) turned in a rather staid performance, but this role was low on energy and believability. And I'm a huge fan of Benning, but I will say that she gives it her all in a film that is neither creatively photographed nor emotionally gripping, and certainly doesn't do her any favors career-wise. All in all, it's a pretty toothless effort from a group that should have been able to produce something more. And finally, I can say this: even an episode of FOX's comedy series 'TITUS' is sharper and more scathing than this weak effort. Personally, I find it a bit insulting that a British director seems to think this script qualified as any sort of legitimate contemporary commentary, especially for someone working inside the 'Hollywood system.' But I suppose that being a director for the major studios certainly qualifies him as a keen observer of Midwestern values and the human condition. Is it any wonder the Bristish no longer have a legitimate film community? We should have seen this one coming a long ways away, and turned it back before it reached the shores. Don't believe the hype. And do your homework.
Rating:
Summary: a realistically tragic film
Review: This movie was my favorite movie along with Braveheart. The piano theme that played through the movie was very haunting and set the mood for the film very well. Kevin spacey didn't just get an oscar he earned it. The way the theme of lost youth was shown very well but i'm not the person to be saying what kind of literary themes it had. If there is somebody that has broken down the movie and understood the themes please email me. I thought one of the most huanting but one of the best parts of the film was the flying bag, if you haven't watched then you wouldn't know what i'm talking about. It was said in another review that that only reason that certain people didn't like it was because it hit too close to home. You won't like it if you don't watch it with open mind as said by an other reviewer but it isn't going to do you any good reading these reviews and not going out and actually watching it so rent it today!
Rating:
Summary: "American Dead": We are a fallen soceity.
Review: Have we become such a deluded and immoral society that we give the highest amount of praise and approval to a movie such as this? Obviously we have. Is there no longer any feeling of loyalty to one's spouse, and the sanctity of a sexual relationship in the binding promises of marriage? Again, apparently not. Our soceity is one which supports movies such as this. Period. We not only practice the things seen in this movie regularly, but approve and give praise and WORSHIP to those who carry them out in the public's eye. Ours in a fallen society, no mistake. This movie is simply disturbing and grotesque in the most immoral of ways. This film is supposed to bring forth the hidden evils of the family life in America? Perhaps the family life of the producer of this film, but certainly not the family life of people who still hold guidelines and laws in their lives. This is just one big attempt to make immoral people feel good about themselves; like their mistakes and sins are perfectly normal behavior for human beings, and there's no reason to not carry them out. This film is simply one big "feel-good-about-myself" piece of junk, laced with the most awful morals and standards conceivable. The thought of killing one's parents is not something every child is born with; the sexual misrepresentation in this film is not normal; the apperant lusting in this film is not normal; most of this film is just a play to try and make the family something it's not. I can't believe that such a gross and disturbing film has the name "American" in it; the same word that means liberty, law, and justice around the world. Is this the kind of substance we want our children growing up around? Yes, children have, do, and will see this film many times. A society in which the family unit operates like this cannot exist, and it's more than obvious to me that this is the direction America is taking right now. A society that glorifies perversion, unfaithfulness, murder, ungodliness, and a hand full of other vices is doomed to extinction. Like it or not, there it is. If this is where America is, then this film should be renamed "American Dead".
Rating: 
Summary: Not even close
Review: This is not one of the best films ever made, it is not even in the top 100. Anyone who thinks so has either not seen or understood Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, 2001 or The Battleship Potemkin. American Beauty is riddled with first year film school cliches and kindergarden philosophy. The angst filled teenagers are not only unappealing, they are nauseating to look at and listen to. Annette Benning give as adequate but unremarkable performance (she can cry and scream, so what?) What American Beauty does have is an absolutely brilliant performance by Kevin Spacey. Everything else in the film has been done before and better.
Rating:
Summary: Can't believe it has mainstrem acceptance
Review: Movies of this type have been released for years, I think this movie is a testament to the changing tastes of the American public. The days of explosions, and endless fight scene action movies is over. Many movies coming out now make me yearn for those days, this dark comedy movie give me hope for the future. Amid a plethora of let down movies, this is a shinning beakon in the night. I gave this movie no chance of winning an Oscar, though I personally thought it the best of the year I didn't think it could ever be mainstream popular. A compilation of a cast of great actors, and fairly intresting story make this one of the few movies in recent years that deserved an Oscar.
Rating:
Summary: don't waste your money
Review: Once again i bought into the notion that so many critics couldn't possibly be wrong.THEY WERE! Although i agree that the acting was excellent,and there were a few funny moments,the film was nothing more than bunch of pathetic losers that have as much to do with life in the suburbs as Hillary Clinton.Maybe this is what life is like for the elitist Hollywood crowd and their psuedo-intellectual movie critics who tell us that "this brilliant movie peels away the myth of the happy American family to expose the dark underside of our society".Can't wait till Toy Story 2 comes out.
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