Rating: 
Summary: A definitive post-modern flick
Review: If this movie is to be labeled as an "experimental movie," then it is a successful experiment. When I first saw it in the theatre, I had no idea what to expect. To my surprise and delight, I found a truly deep and stimulating film; something that is almost bereft in Hollywood productions these days.The movie centers around the life of one Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey. This is a different sort of role for the usual masculine Spacey, and he turns in an Academy Award calibre performance. The story details the plight of Burnham as he approaches middle age and the dreaded "mid-life crisis." His marriage no longer holds any passion, his daughter feels nothing but apathy towards him, and his employer feels that he must write up a report to "justify his existence" as the company he works for is ready to downsize (if that's not a buzzword these days for corporations, I don't know what is). There is a haunting nostalgia and foreboding which saturates this movie as few I've ever seen. Burnham's meditation on his own death is utterly fascinating. The tale distinctively brings to mind the passage "Death By Water" from T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland": Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead, Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell And the profit and loss. A current under sea Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell He passed the stages of his age and youth Entering the whirlpool. Gentile or Jew O you who turn the wheel and look to windward, Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you. (312-322) Through all this, Spacey's character dreams of reclaiming lost youth & the vigour for life that he once held. There are also Faulkneresque overtones straight out of "The Sound And The Fury" as Burnham's daughter & her boyfriend confront the awakening of their sexuality and the concept of death simultaneously. This is a tremendous effort of film-making, and I just wish Hollywood would take more chances on cerebral projects such as this one, instead of sticking to the safe, redundant "tried & true" formulae movies for which they are so well known. Whether my wish comes true or not (it probably won't), this is a fantastic post-modern film to be enjoyed by all.
Rating: 
Summary: Fool's gold
Review: In the wake of the Columbine shooting and other anti-social or irrational acts of violence, there is a widespread hunger for explanations, or even simply representations, of the American malaise. In the face of political parties and mass media and institutions that studiously ignore everything that gnaws away at the population, it is natural that large numbers of people should seek out some other sphere in which their disquiet might be reflected and perhaps addressed. Popular film is one such sphere. American Beauty, in my view, however, is fool's gold. I would suggest that those who respond enthusiastically to the film are either settling for far too little or, in their impatience for substantive material, are engaging in wishful thinking and largely inventing the film they would like to see made. Lester Burnham is a middle aged magazine writer on the verge of losing his job. He lives in an immaculate suburb with his real estate agent wife Carolyn, who considers her husband a failure and won't allow him to touch her, and his teenage daughter Jane, who has little use for Lester either. Their new neighbors are a marine colonel, his unhappy wife and their strange son, Ricky, who goes about recording everything in his life on videotape. Lester develops an obsession for Jane's friend Angela and throws caution to the wind. He quits his job, blackmailing his employer into paying a year's severance, and sets about changing the conditions of his life. His little rebellion helps propel his wife into an affair with a local real estate big shot and his daughter into the arms of the neighbor's son, and sets in motion a series of events that lead to his own death. The chief difficulty with American Beauty is that relatively little thought, or perhaps only thought of a superficial character, has gone into its creation. As a supposed exercise in social commentary, American Beauty proves to be composed largely of limp and hardly earth-shattering criticisms of materialism and the American Dream and, when one examines them, the sort of banalities that currently make up much of the content of afternoon talk shows and works of popular psychology. Nor does the film hold up as a drama. It resorts too often to stereotypes, borrows lazily from other films and contains many, many implausibilities. The clichés too are tedious. Why must the marine colonel be ramrod stiff and a repressed homosexual? This seems too familiar and too easy. There must be such figures with other, perhaps more highly evolved problems. Is it particularly fresh and original to reveal the apparently promiscuous Angela to be a frightened, over-compensating virgin? Things we've seen before, countless times in other films, are simply shuffled around. Lacking a firmly worked out logic and necessity, the film's narrative presents itself as a series of accidents. There is something quite arbitrary about Lester's death. For it to be tragic his end would need to arise from the logic of his life. But it doesn't arise from something fateful in his unhappy condition. It arises, indeed, from his rebellion. If he hadn't attempted to change his life, it would never have happened. Where is the moral in that? American Beauty is not a critique of what's wrong with America, but a substitute for such a critique.
Rating:
Summary: A deeper look at the myth of the urban family
Review: From the outset this is the story about the urban family, white picket fence, working parents, nice house. As the movie progresses you become increasing aware that nothing could be further from the truth. A fascinating look at responsibility and discovery of what is really important in life. Its dark and very real but has a remarkably uplifting ending. I would rate this movie as one of (if not the) best movies of the year.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant.
Review: There isn't much that I can say about this movie that hasn't been said by critics or other reviewers. When I say that it is beautiful, I am repetitive. When I say that it is touching, I am trite. But it is beautiful and touching, but it is also more. It is true. It is a true story of American life, of beauty, of family turmoil, of sadness, happiness, love, hate, searching, discovery, and more. It isn't a true story in the traditional sense that, "these things did happen." It is true in the sense that these things DO happen, people DO feel this way, and people DO suffer, and love, and live, and die this way. I can't really recommend this movie any more, but to say that it is real.
Rating:
Summary: Profound
Review: This movie does what few movies do nowadays: it teaches and compels thought. Whereas most blockbusters are soon forgotten, American Beauty will be with us forever. This is one of the few movies in recent years which has deserved its awards and acclaim. It is the story of a typical middle aged man, Lester Burnham, and his dissatisfaction with his life. As Burnham rebels from societal norms, he cultivates a new appreciation for life. It is at the end of the film, when Burnham assures his daughter's friend, Angela Hayes, that she is anything but ordinary, that we realize, to many, Lester may seem ordinary, but to us he is anything but. The other powerful message, which always brings tears to my eyes, is the message about beauty in everything. All of the actors are superb in this film. There are not words to describe Kevin Spacey and the feelings that he conjures up in us. Annette Benning, although I am not a fan of hers, did what needed to be done and, I guess acts well enough to always make me abhor her characters. Mena Suvari, Thora Birch, and Wes Bentley were all haunting supporting actors. There is just too much to say about this movie. I beseech everyone to watch this film and see what all the talk is about. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry, you will someday."
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly good.
Review: This is a very intellegent movie, if you have any brains. If not you will hate it. You will hate if you are conservative too. Conservatives, need to stop thinking the world is all for them and their shelterd ways. There are people out there that probably go through things that are in this movie every day. Carolyn and Lester remind me of my parents. They make movies about God and church, why not make one about this? Why conservatives, why? I don't want to give anything away so I'll just talk about it. Alan Ball is a genius. Sam Mendes too. The acting is exceptional. This movie deserved every award it got, unlike Gladiator. Most sheltered conservatives enjoyed Gladiator. So if you are smart and not stuck up and stupid like most conservatives, you should buy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: A lot of people have mentioned that some people will LOVE this movie, and some just plain "won't get it." After watching American Beauty, you can really find out a lot about yourself. It's one of those movies that digs down to your heart and opens up a door to a new point of view on life. The characters in American Beauty are the epitome of a few of our modern-day personalities. Most people would think it's pretty odd that a 16-year-old would like this movie. Well, I'm 16 and I love it.
Rating: 
Summary: American Beauty
Review: The script for this film is galactically smart, but the movie really took me by surprise. I think the film is worthy of a view; however, it is a film that some will hate and some will love. The fact that Alan Ball was able to hit upon a subject that affects us in such extremes is really a compliment to him. Having said that, I question the value in a movie such as this one. I don't think it's for everyone. My recommendation is to read the well-thought out reviews in this section and decide for yourself is this is your definition of "entertainment".
Rating:
Summary: GREAT movie-the DVD can do better.
Review: On the Alan Ball-Sam Mendes commentary track on this DVD, in the scene where Jane and Ricky take turns filming each other, discuss their dads, and talk about putting Lester out of his misery, Sam Mendes describes a scene before that scene that was cut from the movie, involving Ricky making a video of Jane at a lake, and invites you to see it for yourself in the "outtakes" section of the DVD. Unfortunately, around the time this commentary was recorded, Sam Mendes didn't know this DVD was to be denied these "outtakes" for disc space. Sam Mendes mentions a lot of other deleted scenes in this commentary you could see in the outtakes section, all of which we will never see. This DVD disappoints me slightly. I could only imagine what else Dreamworks sacrificed for a DTS audio track on this DVD. I am highly aware having 4 separate audio tracks on a DVD (DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, and the commentary), eats up room reserved for extra features, but there's an easy way to fix this. Three words: TWO DISC EDITION. If this had just been put together instead of trying to squash together as much extras as could be fit on one disc, we could see these deleted scenes Sam Mendes wanted us to see, and much more. Why was Dreamworks so desperate to avoid a 2-disc edition they'd cut out the essence of any DVD, the deleted scenes, to put it all on one disc? The answer to this we'll never know. All we can assume is Dreamworks wanted to include these scenes, and they knew the option for two discs was avaliable, but they didn't want to bother with two discs, so they just cut out the deleted scenes to make it fit on one disc. I don't care how much extra work a two-disc edition needs, this movie has definetly earned its keep, and deserves the best DVD that money can buy. If this movie were on a two-disc set, I WOULD buy it, and so would everyone else, because they know a little extra money is a small price to pay to own a masterpiece, and every little extra it deserves. Believe me when I say this movie is a masterpiece, and that it should be treated like one. It's a movie that is actually 4 movies; a comedy, a drama, a romance, and a whodunnit mystery, all combined with profoundness and symbolism you'll never forget. At this point, yet another re-release of this movie, especially on DVD, is highly unlikely, so I guess all we can do is make do with the extras we have, and keep dreaming about the extras that could of been.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best ever...
Review: I would assume that by now few are unfamiliar with the look at Americana-suburbia. I watched this movie again over the weekend; this is the 1st time I have seen it since before the 72nd Academy Awards. Despite having now seen this movie almost a dozen times, I realize that it just gets better with each viewing. The only unfortunate thing that I can say that is related the movie is that it is unfortunate that Sam Mendes didn't approve DreamWorks to include the original ending on the DVD (showing a court scene).
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