Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately, there's no option for 0 (zero) Stars...
Review: After reading some of these reviews claiming this is one of the greatest films of all time, my stomach turned. This is probably the most over-rated, boring waste of time & money I've ever seen. I thought the acting was superb - by everyone. BUT! The actual storyline was terrible and the scripting was bordering on pathetic. I'm trying to decide the worst part of the movie... was it being bored to tears? was it the predictable and unoriginal storyline? was it the unclimactic ending? was it the feeling of annoyance at my waste of money? I mean, I can count the number of times I laughed (and this was supposed to be at least somewhat comical) on 1 hand...This film had no business being nominated for anything outside of the Rasberry Awards. If you're looking for a wonderfully told story w/ exceptional acting, watch The Green Mile (it's long, though, I'm warning you now). If you're looking for a dysfunctional family just turn your TV to the Simpsons - at least you'll get a half-hour of laughs... and you won't waste any money doing it!
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS A MOVIE
Review: Spacey won one of the most well-deserved and above critcs OSCARS of all times !. He's magnific. But this is not the main factor. The main factor is: this screenplay is magnificent. Everything conspires to make the audience care and pay attentio to each single character that's shown across the screen. Amazing For those people who think "THE PATRIOT" is a great movie, watch this one...
Rating:
Summary: Do Look Closer
Review: American Beauty is by far one of the most insightful movies i have ever seen. You will see bad reviews here, ignore them. They are written by ignorant americans too blind with patriotism to see the truth. This movie is about the reality behind the American dream. It doesn't happen. People are shocked by the 'crazy' things the characters in this movie do, but you see that it makes them HAPPY, which is the most important part of living, something many people don't understand. This movie is powerful and truly beautiful from the acting and cinematography to its portayal of the fall and rise of the human spirit. Those who ramble on about how horrible it is are too stuck on the idealism of america and can't comprehend that life may indeed need changing ( or rather don't want to for fear the movie might hold some truth). At any rate, this movie should surely be seen by all. Watch it and think about it for yourself
Rating: 
Summary: The philosophical exploitation film
Review: AB is essentially The Thin Red Line of the exploitation genre. I mean, TTRL attempted to be a philosophical war film and AB attempts to be a philosophical exploitation film. The exploitation genre began in the early 60's with the surf films by Willaim Asher and films about Spring Break in Florida (e.g., "Where The Boys Are"). The genre came to perfection in the early 80's with films like "Risky Business," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "A Night in Heaven," "Vacation" and "Sixteen Candles." AB fails to reach the standard set by the early 80's classics. And make no mistake about it, AB is an exploitation film. It has all the trappings: 1) The blond cheerleader who strips 2) The male who masturbates and has sexual fantasies 3) The crude sex scene in the motel 4) The tough-talking military guy who turns out to be as horny as everyone else 5) The scene at the fast-food restaurant where someone gets busted [ala "Fast Times at Ridgemont High] 6) The voyeur who films the naked girl and sells pot from his bedroom 7) etc. I think, as a nation of filmmakers, we've lost our touch. AB is so stiff and dry. It basically borrows the obvious elements of "Risky Business" and attempts to make a film out of them (the scoring, the editing, the cinematography, etc.). But "Risky Business" was saved by a story about a kid who ultimately overcomes the pressures of family life by succeeding on his own terms. In AB, Kevein Spacey, who's playing the Tom Cruise character, ends up being killed by a jarhead who unfortunately exposes his homosexuality to him. The rest of the world should know that AB is merely a failed exploitation film and not the screen masterpiece AMPAS claims it is ( . . 5 Oscars! ). Exploitation films have to have a fun spirit and a story in which the main characters learn from their mistakes and better their lives. In AB, the characters commit fatal mistakes that essentially end or destroy their own lives in one way or another. Rent some of the early 80's classics before judging AB. AB couldn't even attract the teenage crowd in the US, something all great exploitation films manage to do.
Rating:
Summary: Reality Programming
Review: I saw this movie when it first came out, so I won't be quoting any lines or scenes. But to those people who find this movie offensive, or a sad portrayal of Americn Suburban society has either never lived in the suburbs, in denial, or never bothered to find out what their neighbors are really like. I was especially pleased with the acting in the movie. Bening and Spacey are veterans and we expect good acting from them, but they exceeded their own standards in this film. Add to that the harem of "new" actors who were brilliant: Birch, Bentley, Suvari, and you've got a movie that could be great no matter how it was written or visualized. But then they add the excellent writing and the theatrical style lighting and coloring and you have an instant American masterpiece which is already a classic. And it won 5 Academy Awards. So :P to any of you who thought it was bad.
Rating:
Summary: "There is so much beauty in this world"
Review: This film is fantastic. It pokes fun at suburban life, yet has a serious undertone, there is a force behind everything. Kevin spacey playes the role of a sad man, lester, with a terrible job, and horrible family life. his daughter Jane is admired by the neighbor boy. The movie contains several twisted people and many twisted love stories. This movie is a must have and is one of my personal favorites. I highly recommend this film.
Rating: 
Summary: an enjoyable conjuror's trick
Review: american beauty is a very good film, but in an era of diminishing expectations one that it is easy to over-value. the title ostensibly refers to one of the main characters - angela - a cheerleading, all-american nymphette. but in reality american beauty stands for a lot more than that. and also in reality angela does not live up to the fantasies of the men who lust after her; they project onto her. and if you can project beauty onto one thing you can project beauty on anything else. beauty is from within, ya-di-ya-di-yah. the key to the film would seem to be that beauty, in america or elsewhere, is everywhere if you look for it the right way. we are shown water droplets, we are shown a bag floating around on the wind, we are shown a marital breakdown. and, through the wonderful art of cinematography, they all appear beautiful. there is a truckload of harsh stuff going on in this film: we have here a father lusting after his daughter's school chum, we have an entirely dysfunctional family who hate each other, unemployment, drugs, and murder. and yet, sam mendes with some neat sleight of hand makes this film upbeat and splendid; you come away from it feeling uplifted. it is almost the diametric opposite of a david lynch film. lynch shows you the foul underside of american society, corrupting images of 'perfection' to make the world look sour. mendes shows us an america heaving with problems, but looking under the surface reveals beauty, real beauty, the beauty we all seek but (the film suggests) in the wrong places. it was always just in front of our noses, it only took a shift in perspective. it is cleverly concieved, it looks stunning, but it is only a trick. take a look at that bag floating on the wind: it is the most beautiful thing ricki has ever filmed, he says. and it is empty, it is an empty bag with no volition, it is blown by the wind's whims. it has no anima. and then take a look at what lester burnham actually manages to do during this film. where capra showed us romantically that one man can make a difference, american beauty is essentially about one man just opting out. it is a covert hippy dream, and has an underlying buddhist theme (whether intentionally or not). in this sense it is a subversive picture, but doesn't get much done. kevin spacey puts his heart and soul into lester; it is his best performance yet in a career of excellent, memorable performances and the film is worth seeing for his verve alone. and i am already planning a middle-aged crisis just so i can be as cool as kevin spacey! american beauty is a film that appears to have a lot of discussion points and it will be talked about for a few years. it is vague enough to be read in a number of different ways (and that is not a criticism)and it has a circular logic to it that defies penetration. but, ultimately, i think it contains rather empty ideas. lovely though it might be to wander about in a haze finding genuine loveliness in putrefying birds, as ricki does, it wouldn't really address any issues in your life. the last twenty minutes are disappointing and the film is hardly flawless. it is currently massively over-rated, but it would be equally daft to join the backlash. it is a very good movie, it scores high on entertainment value and does make you think. but, as i say, i consider it a neat conjuror's trick and a wonderful example of style over content... but it does have an awful lot of style. in conclusion, not a masterpiece. don't go taking this onto your desert island instead of vertigo, but an interesting and enjoyable movie you would be wise to try out.
Rating:
Summary: a true Beauty
Review: It always amazes me at how much hatred can be inspired by an intelligent, thought-provoking movie. Scroll down and read some of the negative reviews; the people who wrote them truely have no idea what they're talking about. I agree completely with the well-written, calm review that quoted Kevin Spacey as saying that American Beauty is a film about context. This movie apparently is a love-it or hate-it film (as, I've found, most intelligent cinema is). Great literature is filled mostly with (no, comprised completely of) stories that provoke us. Maybe we agree with them, maybe we hate them, but the cause for hate is more often than not misunderstanding, or, as the old saying goes, "they've gotten their toes stepped on." Art forces our noses down to the filth of our actions; many are frightened by a film like American Beauty, which portrays these events, but does not condone them. People grow afraid when a brilliant piece of work such as American Beauty makes them realize understand why people act this way, for, with understanding, comes comprehension; there is a line between the two. Once fully comprehended, it makes no sense for these people to hate the actions of the characters onscreen; but they _want_ to hate them, to show how truly different and superior they themselves are. What it boils down to is that we are all human, and all capable of this behavior, only some do not like to admit it. American Beauty, for all its beauty, shows us a darker side of suburbia, and ourselves. What the movie's detractors fail to realize is that once we are shown, we stand a much better chance of curtailing such behavior.
Rating:
Summary: BLACK
Review: Brilliantly black like a wave of eclectic sorrow, frustration and low life. Spacey is spaced. Benning is lovely in her illusory adventures into the morbid extremes. Must see for all who know what a film is.
Rating:
Summary: ...is a joy forever
Review: The best film of 1999 was the decade's last great entry in the genre it will become known for: the black comedy. Deserving of its place alongside "Pulp Fiction" and "Fargo," Sam Mendes' transcendent "American Beauty" chronicles the Burnhams, a suburban American family drowning in their own polished miseries. Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Wes Bentley and Thora Birch all shine in this astute, clever, and ultimately moving tale of the dangers of trading our loves for our lusts and forsaking that which is truly important. "American Beauty" finished out a renegade decade for world cinema in high style.
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