Rating: 
Summary: Original, but not worthy of an Academy Award
Review: Grant it that this has been an original portrayel of modern day life and is deserving of some recognition, however I don't believe this is an award winning film. I do agree that the character development and depth of each character was interesting. Also, I was disappointed that the "Awards Edition" really didn't include any worthy bonus features.
Rating: 
Summary: THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE
Review: When my best friend asked me to see this movie in the theater, I must say that I was reluctant to see it. Needless to say, I returned to the theater 5 times to see it again. I cried every time. This film has truly touched my soul. And I can honestly say it has changed my life. It has a great story, and it is full of meaning, Kevin Spacey is incredible. When the movie recieved all the Oscars my eyes filled with tears. American Beauty is my all time favorite movie. I am the proud owner of the DVD and the screenplay! PLEASE see this movie!! It is out of this world.
Rating:
Summary: A riveting, heartfelt film about looking past...
Review: I was riveted. Watch this film...closely. Nuff' said.
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Movies
Review: I Have Seen This Movie And I Think It It Is very Good. For The Price I Think You Should Buy It. I Think For The Price You Can Not Go Wrong. If You Are Still Not Sure That You Will Like It After You Read My Review' Than Rent It. But If You Just Go Out And Buy It I Dont Think You Will Be Dissappointed
Rating:
Summary: an amazing achievement
Review: For starters, I deem it an amazing achievement to put this movie down, as has become the current vogue at amazon[.com] reviews of American beauty. With the exception of Carl Dreyers "The passion of Joan of Arc" from 1928, I have never seen a film that works on so many levels simultaneously. From the title itself, multiple meanings melt into one coherent whole. The film`s detractors point out single scenes, like Carolyns house selling scene, but this is like focussing on a part of one arm of a snowflake, and commenting on how ragged and unsymmetric it is. One can detract the film if staying in the surface view, but I find the undercurrents flowing with an internal logic that grips emotionally and ultimately uplifts.American Beauty is the amazing directorial debut of theater man Sam Mendes. Penned by TV writer Alan Ball, the script may feel like a sitcomish satire of suburban hell at first, but beyond the laughs lurks a fascinating exploration of people trying to convince themselves they're not as miserable as they really are. It's also somehow a tragedy, as we're told right off that fatality will strike. Mendes makes great use of the possibilities of cinema. His film is always interesting and inventive visually, in an almost impressionistic way. Among other things, he makes very interesting use of American beauties, a variety of red roses that the wife cultivates and which Lester links to his fantasies. I also love the score by Thomas Newman, who should have one an Oscar, and the cast is as good as it gets. Annette Bening is convincing as always as an apparently successful career woman whose facade is shattering, and like Peter Gallagher's, her character is a bit caricatural but still effective. Thora Birch is perfect as her confused daughter, and so is Mena Suvari as her babe girlfriend. Suvari (who was one of the best things in American Pie) is highly desirable at first, then she starts talking and gets obnoxious, but eventually you get to really know her character and she's just another sad kid. This is a surprising performance and so is the one delivered by Wes Bentley, who's got solid screen presence and charisma as Ricky. He's able to really grab your attention and toy with your expectations, maybe disturb you a little but ultimately impress you with his focused mind. Last but not least is Kevin Spacey, who really deserved his Oscar for his astonishing portrayal of a man who spins his life around. It's just so exhilarating to watch him gain confidence and retrieve hope in life. Spacey has done great work in the past, but this might be the role that he'll be remembered for. He goes through many different states of mind and behaviors in the film, yet Spacey makes it feel all natural. This is one of those performances that sticks with you and inspire you. And then there's Spacey's "got nothing to lose" attitude and return to an adolescent mind state which is hilarious! It's always fun to watch someone being a smartass and making uptight types speechless for once.
I'm personally grateful to any picture that gives me a new respect for life. American Beauty is one of my all-time favorite pictures. It carries wit, beauty, compassion in the undercurrent.
All the undercurrents of the film terminate in the final sentences, that I personally carry as a staement of life and an upliftment that has affected my everyday life. Can a movie do more?
Rating: 
Summary: To Dispell Your Stupidity
Review: Anytime a movie fails, people call it a dark comedy, because it couldn't succeed in making its audience either frightened, sad or laugh. Not that there aren't genuine black or dark comedies out there (see Psycho--the real version), but a handy catch phrase for failed movie is "dark". This movie is such. It didn't start out to be a dark comedy- it started out to be a heavy-handed,schlocky symbolistic drama with light moments. It failed on both counts. It can't do anything but try at pretention. Kevin Spacey should have his SAG card revoked for this.
Also, every film student and his repressive mother goes nuts about the cinematography in this piece, so let me dispell their joy right now. Go watch a 1950's sitcom-- Ozzie and Harriet works best, because thats where the direct inspriation comes from, but any one with a white picket fence. Now colorize it. Now make the color red articifically stand out a lot, through playing with tint. There. You have the exact visuals of American Beauty--an ironic look at the cookie cutter 1950's family updated to modern day. How freaking original. Maybe next they'll tell us that the French are Facist racist intellectual elites or Italians are underworld kingpins or Jews are oppressed, kind-hearted wise men. I swear, if this movie could fit those one-dimensional revisionist history stereotypes into its story, it would. It just got caught somewhere between loading up an SUV and putting its characters into family therapy.
After watching this movie, one has the distinct urge to enforce Annette Benning to move to Antartica and Meni Suvari to sign a pact never, ever to talk or get within fifty feet of a camera again.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated, and Has been done many times over
Review: American Beauty is a solid movie. Let's just say that from the start. The film is an airtight ship; no leaks or seaweed are inside, and it cruises nicely from one harbor to the next. But with that said, the obsequious nature of critics and filmgoers alike to this movie would be hilarious if not downright depressing. Ultimately, this is the "Modern life is unfulfilling" argument stacked in the same room as the "we should all get along and be politically correct and more left" argument. Not that this is wrong or poorly played; but it is not original or originally done. Whats worse, every character falls into the stereotypical roles we would expect to be assigned in this drama. First, the "unfulfilling aspect". Spacey's career is meaningless; Suvari's life is an empty hull; Benning's misery is compounded by her materialistic world. All the characters act movie-type correctly (Suvari realizes her own emptiness and is hurt by it; Benning has a nervous breakdown; Spacey breaks away from his job and begins "living!", meaning he works out and desires sex (always, in Hollywood, a good thing)). The only character who breaks out of this is Benning's, whose self-abuse inside the unsold house speaks of a character depth beyond all others, but due to poor editing, script choices, and Benning's own failed acting skills, she is forgotten. Spacey retreads his monotone, boring ranting skills throughout much, but at least he is believable and, if he doesn't take any risks, at least he doesn't screw up a free lunch. However, the "politcally correct" part invades the rest of the movie to cheapen it further. The gay men are the most sane. The man who hates gays is secretly gay himself. Oh yes, and we shouldn't have sex with someone of a different age, because "its just wrong". These leftist politically correct values pollute the scenery around the steretypes we watch control the drama. Ultimately, this elitist strike against suburbia is ok, but is forgettable and certainly not "incredible". Rather, it is mundane. Some may trumpet this, with its British directing and writing, as a blow to American cinema, but I think it fits nicely in with every other tirade against middle America Hollywood produces--it is a most Hollywood of movies.
Rating:
Summary: Give Me a Break!
Review: For all the heaps of praise (and Academy Awards) this film received, I must express a note of dissent. I watched this film expecting some kind of bold, original statement on the disillusionment of the American Dream and came out feeling distinctly underwhelmed. I think the main problem is that the film takes itself so seriously, everything from Kevin Spacey's one-note performance (how on earth did THIS beat Denzel Washington's powerful tour-de-force in The Hurricane?), the confused direction and screenplay struggling to be artsy indie and glossy Hollywood all in one, and the footage of the "oh-so-symbolic" plastic bag. This malaise of pseudo-profound pretentiousness attempting to convey messages about the hell of a seemingly perfect American suburbia, the obsession with materialism, the tenuous thread of human existence, et al, had me rolling my eyes to the back of my head. So while Kevin Spacey was having his nervous breakdown in the Suburban Cornfield, smoking..., lifting weights, fantasizing about girls more than half his age, and having a childlike regression in maturity, I was hoping that his @ss would be taken back to Oz. Spacey IS a damned good actor, but the heavy-handed material he's chosen for himself these days (meaning movies that are manufactured for critic's prizes) makes me balk at the money I shell out to see them. To quote, "Hey Spacey! Pay it Forward!" Ultimately, this might have been good enough to manipulate the Academy, but films like this only leave a bad taste in my mouth. The industry needs to wake up and realize that the only good movies aren't the ones prepackaged to win awards and/or produced by Miramax.
Rating:
Summary: AMERICAN RAPP-TURE........
Review: WELL beyond five stars for this opus of fracturing domesticity circa late 1999 - although Jack Lemon, Shirley Maclaine, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Perkins and Natalie Wood would have carried this movie to stardom and beyond - were it made let's say 45 years ago ...... with Sue Lyon subbing Mena Suvari. Bows to Mr. Mendez for this jewel - excellently presented on this pristine DVD! Reminds of "Rebel without a Cause" - slight nod to Dean's gender-confusd papa. Mandatory viewing for all!
Rating:
Summary: SPACED OUT BY THIS BEAUTY
Review: Both Spacey and Benning succeed in bringing their formidable skills to a peak in this extremely funny, black comedy, by Sam Mendes.
The scenes are simply shot, maybe too much for some, but brilliantly executed throughout,provoking thoughts of twisted ideals and deep rooted misguided prejudices.
The film manages to cover so many areas, and make so many points, that it is a tribute to Mendes skill as a director that it remains so full of wit and charm.
It is bleak in parts,but I loved it's honesty and strong message of the fragility of life, often lost in every day monotony.
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