Rating: 
Summary: Yes, the best film of '99
Review: I have seen this movie twice, and both times were great. The brilliant acting, wonderful and hilarious writing, the haunting score. They all came together to create the best film of 1999. HOWEVER, if you are looking for an even better and, in my opinion, more realistic suburban satire, try Joseph Heller's SOMETHING HAPPENED. While on the subject of joseph heller, I am currently re-reading catch-22, and in it, a man is injured when he is hit by a "American Beauty rose". Any correlation?
Rating:
Summary: It's hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty......
Review: American Beauty is about Lestor, a 42 year old who thinks his life is being wasted, but things are starting to change in his life. American Beauty is an epic, comedy/drama that gets it right. This movie is full of laughs, sex, compassion, and heart. Kevin Spacy and Annette Bening are funny and spectacular. This is one movie that diserves to have an oscar and be loved. There is alot of beauty in the world, and it's all in one film. American Beauty is a great film that you'll love and cherish till the day you'll die. But don't take my word for it, see it for your selves..... (It's hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty.)-Kevin Spacey
Rating: 
Summary: What was all the hype?
Review: Once again, the Oscar hype has taken a sub-par film, and rocketed it to popularity and success on the backs of two of today's best actors. Kevin Spacey once again delivers an award-worthy performance, and Annette Benning is superb as his emotionally eratic wife, but that's where the kudos should end. Not since The English Patient has a film been so disappointing and unworthy of all the attention and praise it has received. This dark, tragic tale of midlife crisis fails to deliver and plods along with teasers of a climactic finish, only to finish the same way it began....slow. Look for a great performance by Kevin Spacey, as always, but your time and money would be better spent on any other of his movies. The Usual Suspects is a perfect example. Steer clear of this one unless you believe all the hype and irrationality once again shown by the Academy
Rating:
Summary: A Mirror to Society
Review: "American Beauty" is like a beautiful home crawling with termites beneath the surface. Wherever there are people, you will find great imperfections, so how can people deny the reality of this film? Such conduct does exist. I have witnessed it in a similar socio-economic stratum shared by the characters in this movie. Those who cry for a return to the values of the good old days show a marked ignorance of our social history. Read about the reactions of various social groups in the early 1930s to Hollywood films of that era. Such reactions are comparable to contemporary negative outcries against Hollywood. That is just one example. "American Beauty" reflects misplaced values that have always existed in one form or another. The dignity and value of all individuals should be a constant striving. That to me is a significant plea in this film. "American Beauty" may be uncomfortable to many, but we have to know the cause of the illness to heal it. How can anyone believe that the film makers are advocating fathers sleeping with their daughters girlfriends? Watch films like this and "The Ice Storm" (with similar themes of societal disfunction) and discuss them.
Rating: 
Summary: Trash
Review: I really didn't think it could get any worse when the American public voted for Bill Clinton a second time, knowing what a lier he was. The fact that this movie is held up as some sort of statement of "suburban America" really shows how pathetic society really is. This is the worst movie I have seen in years. Go rent the South Park movie, it has more class.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen! It deserves all of it's praise. Kevin Spacey delivers this film as a disillusioned middle-aged man looking to reclaim his life. He quits his job and starts obsessing over his daughter's Lolita-like friend (Mena Suvari). I initially thought she was the beauty described in the title, but the title really refers to the beauty in our lives that we often neglect. One performance that is overlooked (in my opinion) is that of Chris Cooper, who played the next-door Marine soldier with a few surprises. Annette Bening and Thora Birch round out the great performances. Living in suburbia often causes people to take things for granted and losttouch with themselves. The movie captured this perfectly. You can be sure I'll buy a copy of this film.
Rating:
Summary: Beauty.....In Many Forms
Review: Reading some of the reviews of this movie are painful. People who can't take off their "dumb" glasses for long enough to see the poignancy of this movie should go back to high school, or at least take some interpretation course. The producers of this movie are not GLORIFYING or HERALDING underage sex and the like; how does one get the idea that they enjoy these or something? American Beauty is the best movie of 1999, if not the decade, and is the epitome of a blend of comedy, insight, and poignance. The reason this movie is either loved or hated yields one simple explanation; American Beauty holds a mirror in front of most families in the nation, and some just cannot take this. Annette Bening shined as Carolyn Burnham, but the set was eclipsed by the utter brilliance of Kevin Spacey. His dry humor and outlook on life are amazing and unequaled in film. I believe Birch should have been given more credit for her role as Jane Burnham as well; she portrayed a teenager so similar to many today. Sure, many of the characters were strongly stereotyped (Birch, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney), but what movie does not contain these? This is to get meanings into the "thick-skulled" (but apparently even stereotypes didn't do for some). This movie deserved every accolade it's gotten. 5 Stars.
Rating:
Summary: "Spec-tac-ular!"
Review: Could be the best movie of 1999- And there were a lot of great ones last year. I will also say something even (possibly) bolder--that Kevin Spacey gives the performance of his career. And all us movie geeks know that is saying a LOT, given this man's past roles, and his talent. I used to think he was overrated as an actor. Then I figured OK, I see what all the fuss is about. Now, he's up there with my favorite actors of all time, with James Woods, Steve Buscemi, Robert Deniro...probably in the top 5. I was lucky enough to see a free screening last September and boy, am I glad I had the privilege...it's one of those movies that blows you away so much that you have trouble even putting your feelings into words. I rented it over the weekend and loved it just as much upon second (and 3rd, and 4th, and 5th) watchings. The plotline sounds trite when you first describe it (it did to me when I first heard about it), Spacey plays a man who describes himself as a loser, with Bening as his horrible, shrewish, self-absorbed, pathetic b*tch of a wife. His daughter is not all that likeable either, despite the fact that you can understand why she turned out this way, with her as a mother. Just when you think you've met the most dysfunctional family in the world outside of "Happiness", you find out about the family who just moved in next door. At first, the strange son seems like the most messed-up member of their brood, but after you get to meet his ex-military, abusive, homophobic, terrifying father and his withdrawn, sad, headcase mother, you realize he is the most normal member of the household by far. Then, the filmwriters toss in Kevin Spacey's lustful obsession with his daughter's sexkitten cheerleader friend, which trust me, is a lot more fun, entertaining, and amusing than it sounds when you read about it. Soon, he is having the most entertaining, hilarious midlife crisis ever seen in the history of cinema. He just doesn't give a ***k about what he does or says anymore, and you only wish you could get away with doing the things he does. I found myself laughing out loud in this movie so many times, most of it horrified, amazed laughter at what was happening and the things that are coming out of the character's mouths, especially Spacey's. He had at least a dozen lines that had every member of the audience in hysterics and actual applause and cheers. I can't say enough good things about this movie. You think, after the first five minutes, that you know how the movie will end. Well, Spacey's opening narrative does give it away, but trust me, the events unfold in a way that you will NEVER see coming. You will swear you can see what a character is going to do next, what violent or self-destructice act they will commit, but you turn out to be wrong. Without getting too pretentious here, the movie lives up to it's theme/tagline of "...look closer". The characters are not what they seem, up until the end, and even then they surprise you. At least two characters that you are POSITIVE you have figured out, do or say something that turns all your preconceptions of them upside down, while making your jaw drop, and your heart ache. All the acting is stunning, but I honestly can't imagine it being the same movie (or enjoying it as much) with anyone but Spacey in the lead role. You will leave the movie with a smile, though, and that is maybe what I expected least of all. Words just cannot do this movie justice-See it for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: "Beauty"-ful
Review: "I rule!" is one of the many things that Lester Burnham says during his nervous breakdown. He is the main character in this excellent movie about suburban America. Starring Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey this movie makes you laugh as you get pulled into its wonderful story. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a husband and father who decides to pursue a life in smoking pot, working at a fast food restaurant, and chasing after a high school girl who happens to be her daughter's best friend. Meanwhile his wife (Annette Bening), a real estate salesman, is also having a nervous breakdown. She cheats on Lester with some other guy who is also in real estate. This provides one of the most amusing scenes in the movie when Bening is making out in a van with that guy and they are driving through a fast food place; the place where Lester works. He catches them red-handed and its just, hilarious. The Burnham's neighbors also have a large part in the movie even though they are just basically supporting the Burnham family's characters. They are also a three-person family. The father is abusive and prejudice, the mother just takes it all and doesn't say a word, and their son (newcomer Wes Bentley) is Lester's drug-dealer and also becomes his daughter's girlfriend. From what I have written I hope you can decide if you are interested in this movie. I would not recommend it to people easily offended. I would recommend it to people who like dark comedies. So give it a shot. I think you will probably enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Humor Most Black... More "Drop Jaw" than "Guffaw"...
Review: One day this film will be tought in schools. Not just film classes, but social studies and psychology classes too! Sam Mendes (Director) and Allen Ball (Script) have made a film larger than it's parts. And what good parts they are, too. Kevin Spacey, as lonely husband Lester, again shows us just why he wins so many awards. His performance is so perfect, everything that comes out of his mouth is instantly believable. I'm not a fan of narrated plot advances, but when the narrator is dead man, these advances take on added dimension. This is not only the best role of his career, but one of the best roles on film. Notice when he realizes the cheerleader-whore of his dreams is in fact a virgin. You'll see! The last 10 seconds of Annette Bennings' "Carolyn" say more with no words than most roles say in an entire film. Those 10 seconds make you instantly realize what a great part she'd been playing all along. You simply must see her performance! I didn't realize just how good she was until I saw her here. The members of the "Fitts Family" (the new family next door) do such fine ensemble acting, they give underscored meaning the the term "Dysfunctional". Wes Bently (Ricky Fitts) is going to be huge! He makes his camera weilding freak turn from mernacing to adorable in 5 seconds - with not a word spoken! That's acting. When he see's a chance to leave his schitzo Mom and homophobic ex-soldier Dad by pretending to be gay, your heart reaches out in every direction. When the consequences of this deception surface, you will be horrified! Not a simple accomplishment in just 15 minutes of filmaking. This film succeeds on so many levels. I don't generally like my comedy fueled with so much Drama, or vice-versa, however, great acting - writing and directing, when executed with such symbiosis make this one of those films from which any student of life will learn. After all is said and done, Mendes proves that it's not values or morals that realy matter. It's all just a bunch of random acts of kindness and violence that make us live... or die.
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