Rating: 
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: I was sceptical before reading the script and seeing the movie, all that hype I thought. Usually what accompanies the hype is not justified. However, in this case it is. It is a winding road of emotion; hilarity, happines and not sadness as such but realism. Close to the bone realism. Excellent. If you see one film this year, make it this one. When is the video out?
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: I was worried that the script wouldn't be as strong without the great acting that the movie featured, but this moved me just as greatly as that spectacular film. The emotion communicates just as well in print, and reading the script was a great way to further internalize the film's message.
Rating:
Summary: American Beauty is Amazing
Review: I'm 14 and I found this movie and book absolutley amazing. See the movie, read the book. Both highly recommended. Kevin Spacey is my favorite actor and is truly outstanding in this film.
Rating:
Summary: Look Closer...
Review: If you didn't like the movie as you watched it, then you'll gonna love it after you read this script!
Rating: 
Summary: ***** for the text, * for production values of the book
Review: If you have seen the movie, and were deeply touched by it, as seems inevitable, owning this screenplay is definitely worthwhile. Without having to put on the DVD, you can relive particular moments by just leafing through the pages. Alan Ball's script won multiple awards, and rightly so: it is a masterpiece of dramatic writing, merging the comical, the tragic and the spiritual in ways rarely seen in present day (American) film.
Yet this book isn't all it could, and in my view should, have been. It really offers very little besides the literal text of the final movie version (including some of Annette Bening's and Kevin Spacey's improvisations). Other film scripts I own include in-depth information about genesis, casting, production etc., loads of good still and behind-the-scenes photography, as well as discarded scenes and earlier versions of scenes. None of that here, even though several parts of the film were drastically altered during the filming. There is a 2-page intro by Mendes that adds nothing to the information contained on the DVD, if you own that; and the same goes for the even shorter afterword by Ball (who, on the DVD commentary track, isn't able to get a word in edgewise with Mendes, and so remains something of an enigma). Then there are a few grainy black and white stills that are an insult to the brilliant cinematography of the movie - and that's it. For makers of a film so ostentatiously concerned with the relativity of material things, it does seem like a rather cheap way to squeeze some extra bucks from it...
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE!!!
Review: In the best screenplay for the best film ever made, Alan Ball has written a wonderfully hilarious movie in which an ordinary suburbanite snaps after a teen vixen reengages his life. Sam Mendes directed the film, and it was the most earth shattering, emotional, beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'm a sixteen year old boy, it made me cry,and I'm not afraid to admit it!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutly Phenominal
Review: In the times we have today, movies can tend to drudge on, and go nowhere. Of the past twenty or so movies that I have seen, i've come out of the theatre saying, "eh..." but I left American Beauty with the feeling that something really phenominal had just past me by. Thus, I saw it again the next weekend, and a whole deeper level and understanding clicked.The movie itself was a splendid mix of comedy and drama, unlike the movie 3 Kings, which I had seen the day earlier. 3 Kings was borderline between the two, and couldn't really decide what it was. American Beuaty wasn't like that at all. It had me on the brink of tears at times, and laughing my head off at other times. I came out of that movie with a sense of satisfaction. The screenplay gives me the same satisfaction.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Intelligent, Amazing, Poignant, and Beautiful
Review: Incredible--what can I say that hasn't been said. Well, I'm 13 (almost 14 :)) and I often find myself annoyed by my friends--who hated this film, and only liked it for the quote, "Little bit of T&A." I am one of the very few intellectuals at my school--and I love the English Patient, The Thin Red Line, and most importantly American Beauty. I suppose I shouldn't say I am annoyed by my friends--I just feel sad that they can't see the marvelous beauty that I see. "And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life." Also Reccomended: The Thin Red Line, The English Patient, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and probably the most overlooked, but one of the best: Magnolia.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring
Review: It's easy to connect with this movie because we all know how it feels like to be pushed around like Lester, to be cold like Carolyn, bratty and "willful" like Jane, repressed like Colonel Fitts, vain like Angela, and last but not least--genuine like Ricky. I think all the characters in this movie/script represent different facets of me, of most people. That's the reason why people have been so enthusiastic about this movie. It taps into emotions that no one had the guts or sense to bring up. We all go a little nuts sometimes. The scene with the plastic bag is CLASSIC. That's something millions of movie fans will remember for years to come. The sex scenes turned off softer viewers, but come on--this is the twenty-first century. Nothing's shocking. And this movie does a good job of following its themes, still.
Rating:
Summary: Movie that let's you fill in the blanks
Review: Just got back from the movie. Very gripping, sometimes making you look away from the screen, other times fascinated about what may happen next. We middle-agers all have our epiphanies, little lies, rationalizations and prides - this movie gives us a sampling and invites us to join in with a review of our own. The amount of sex may be a little overdone, too Freudian, but the relationship between Jane and young Fitts shows how communication and attraction can start - we missed that with Lester and Carolyn and find it hard to imagine. Emotions are shown in explosive and contemplative moments - some of the characters recognize how emotions drive them and can inspire them, others don't and the unhappy ones are the ones who don't recognize and channel the power into constructive changes/self-evaluation. Part of the message is that self-realization is better late than never. Excellent script, lots of messages. So many points to ponder coming out it definitely becomes a must- see-again flick. A darker, deeper and more relatable version of The Big Chill that cuts across generations.
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