Rating: 
Summary: breathtaking, enlightening, and exhausting...
Review: this film is truly one of the finest i've ever seen...from the beginning, with it's almost ethereal feel, to the shocking finale, it kept me mesmerized. the screenplay and visuals are incredible, and you couldn't ask for better actors then kevin spacey and annette benning. the film won't be one that i can watch on a regular basis because of its disturbing nature, but that didn't stop me from immediately picking up the dvd.
Rating:
Summary: Very different. Very good. Kevin Spacey is EXCELLENT!
Review: This movie is beyond words..because it is beyond the usual. It is a great movie, to keep it in so many words. Kevin spacey is great (and sexy as hell, in my opinion) and Annette Benning plays a great Nag! haha! You will be pleased with this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Bizzare
Review: As I watched this movie, my reaction went from "ok, this could still be ok" to "nah...doesn't do it for me". I know that this is supposed to be a "dark" comedy, but I totally found it to be disturbing and I disliked all of the characters. Kevin Spacey's acting is great, but his character totally going for his daughter's girlfriend made me sick. I am trying to understand that it can be a fantasy for this middle-aged, exhausted man to lust after a high school girl, but that is called rape usually. I think that in showing all the dysfunction in family life it is a sad commentary instead of something to be revered or laughed at. Don't waste your time with this movie. If you have never seen it before and want to get it out of curiosity, I beg you to not waste your time because it is not funny or interesting, but truly disturbing.
Rating: 
Summary: Awards Edition good, but deserves no awards
Review: American Beauty is one of those rare Hollywood films that actually dares to push boundaries, make audiences think, and - most importantly - impress enough people that it wins a much-deserved Academy Award. American Beauty is many things; a not-so-subtle portrayal of the hollowness of consumerism and consumer culture, a coming of age story, a treatise on the Heideggerian notion of beauty existing everywhere. It manages to weave all these things together splendidly, while leaving the viewers enough room to work things out on their own. Some of the symbolism is blatant, and the shallowness in suburbia where "nothing is as it seems" is nothing new, and other films have probably dealt with it in better ways, but American Beauty manages to overcome this flaws mostly with outstanding performances from all the main actors, especially Spacey and Benning. Some of the characters, especially Ricky's dad and mom, and occasionally Benning's Mrs. Burnham, are a little underdeveloped and two-dimensional. Many of Thora Birch's lines to Kevin Spacey seem a little "stereotypical" of the "angst-ridden teen," and almost push the boundaries of plausibility, especially in the beginning - "you can't just expect to be my best friend just because you had a bad day at work" comes off as forced, no matter how many times I watch that scene. There is nothing special with the cinematography, and the cgi-roses are almost an overused, tired metaphor at the end of the film. American Beauty is a moving, disturbing piece of filmmaking that manages to put some heavy philisophical concepts regarding art and aesthetics into forms that the average Joe can understand, and will satisfy even those who feel Hollywood turns out nothing decent anymore. Sit back and enjoy one of the many gems that Hollywood turned out in its bumper crop of good films last year. DVD Dirt - The transfers are good, but not perfect. There are minor black lines and dots throughout the film, especially noticable whenever there is a lot of color on the screen. The sound seems a little quiet as well. The commentary is supposedly by director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball, but Ball hardly manages to get a word in edgewise, and Mendes really doesn't share any earth-shattering insights about the film, although they do manage to talk the entire time, which is refreshing. The behind-the-scenes featurette is OK, although almost seems like filler they added just to say it was there. Some deleted scenes might have been nice, especially the entire original introduction, but I guess we'll have to wait for it.
Rating:
Summary: AWFUL
Review: One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Even Kevin Spacey couldn't save it. Judging by some of the other reviews I'm not alone. What they should have done is save everything the kid next door in the movie shot with his camcorder and just use that footage then throw the rest of the movie away. I've never seen such a bad story or worse acting. Shame on the studio for offering this trash to the movie going (and buying) public. Oscars? You've got to be kidding.
Rating:
Summary: A hateful piece of filmmaking
Review: This movie is so hateful, so loatheful of human existence that it's the most painful experience. The writer obviously hates women because The Annette Bening is such a stereotypical picture of women. She should wear a sign that says, "What she needs is a really good shag." That's about as subtle as the writer is with her character. Kevin Spacey again shows why he is the worst respected actor working today. It's the same performance he has given in every one of his movies. This guy's act never changes. Skip this overbloated piece of manure.
Rating:
Summary: Cinematic Excellence
Review: Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening deliver performances in this film unsurpassed in their greatness. Spacey plays a man caught in mid-life in a dead-end job who wants nothing more than for his life to be less monotonous. His wife, played beautifully by Annette Bening, is a housewife and mother who is almost entirely void of any excitement for her marriage, and also desperately needs a change of lifestyle. After Lester Burnham (Spacey) quits his job, he begins to go through a lot of changes in the way he views the world around him. This movie is about love, hate, and confusion, and an absolute must-own for years and years, and a keeper for the rest of your life, as it is an instant classic.
Rating:
Summary: American Beauty, "An American Masterpiece"
Review: I read a few negative reviews of this film, and I'm baffled. This film was outstanding. Kevin Spacey is finally getting the recognition he deserves, I thought he should have won an academy award for, "Swimming with Sharks," but his portrayal here was equally outstanding. He really conveys in this film, a slice of Americana, no one wants to get old. He truly shows that we may get older outwardly, but the child inside sometimes never truly dies. Mena Suvari, is captivating as the "Lolita- like," object of his affection. I think Annette Benning was outstanding as his wayward, gold-digging wife, who never was happy with his career choice. This film is visually stunning and use imagery to convey it's messages, much like in "What Dreams may come," with Robin Williams. This is film is definetely, not for children. It's harshly realistic at times, the language is coarse, and there are some scenes that may make people uncomfortable. If you're an open-minded, liberal viewer, you'll probably really enjoy this film. If you are more on the conservative side, and strong material offends you, you might want to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: rolling my eyes
Review: This movie had some good lessons, but I thought it was unrealistic. It was a movie that pushed a false reality. We practically all go through a little phase where we think we are being shocking, we think we harber this little rebellious adolescent secret of disgust toward most of humanity and secret way of behaving when not around others, and we are going to go out there and do this lifestyle that just because it's taboo, we think we want it, even though we don't. It was like encouraging that done to death scenario. Did the main character ever give a thought to whether HE was satisfying everyone else? Did he ever sit and agonize over whether he was impeccably faithful to his wife in thought/sight/action, or whether he could make her really pleased? Did he ever obsess over being the perfect father? Did he ever stop to think. The movie definitely had that "shock jock" quality.
Rating:
Summary: Under-appreciated Gem is a BEAUTY
Review: What makes a movie worthy of a Best Picture Oscar is something that can not be placed on a check list. You know it after it hits you. Audiences didn't know how to react, take, or even discuss AMERICAN BEAUTY after it slapped them right out of their semi-comfortable theater chairs. A movie such as this compells you to feel. Regardless of what the emotion is, you walk away feeling something. Many people are bothered that they can't stay stone-cold after seeing it. And just like that feeling, you can't put your finger on why this movie won Best Picture. Perhaps it's because cinematically we've never seen anything like it. The story itself is primed for Springer: middle aged man goes through crisis, tries to sleep with daughter's best friend while wife sleeps with work competitor. However, it is how the story is handled that makes it a tremendous step in film-making. If you would rather not be bothered with color-symbolism and artistic expression in your movies, don't even see this one. But if elegance and poetry of sight, color, word, and character draws you to a movie, this is your soon-to-be favorite. Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey deliver terribly amazing performances. Ms. Bening's obsessive and over-worked wife is dead on. In a particular scene where she tries to sell a Brady-like house, you can't decide whether to laugh, cry, or hurt for her. We should be able to relate to the desperate nature of these characters. We are all restless beings. That is our connection...not that we want to sleep with high school cheerleaders. It is the human aspect painted with vibrant images and poetic storytelling that makes this a must-see. It is that quality that I can only describe in round-about circles that makes this movie deserving of it's Best Picture win.
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