Rating: 
Summary: Simply hype
Review: Much more fascinating than this film is the public's reaction to it. Unlimited praise and a Best Picture Oscar made it seem as if there was no one who didn't love this movie. Perhaps it was because of this hype that I was left disappointed by American Beauty. I tried to see the genius that was described in rave reviews and by everyone who had seen it, but all I saw was a long string of cliches in a film that was far too long itself. American Beauty was hailed as showing the truly shocking side of American suburbia. But there was nothing true or shocking about the portrayal of family life in the movie. Every character is extremely cartoonish, and it's difficult to care about any of them. Though I was supposed find Lester Burnam appealing for his frustrations with middle-age life, his character was self-centered and very irritating. Luckily he wasn't as irritating as Annette Benning's character, whose shrill voice and cartoonish personality made for a highly overrated performance. It's disappointing that an actress of such talent was given such a one-dimensional role. The film deals with issues that are old and overused, and it says nothing original on these issues. With this film, there is one word that sums everything up: overrated!
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to Ignore
Review: This movie has stirred people up--'I love it!' or 'I hateit!'That's not necessarily bad. It just means that the movie really proved to be thought-provoking and rough. Getting a strong reaction for a work of art, whether good or bad, generally means you're doing something new and meaningful--something hard to ignore. This movie didn't make me want to molest teens, do drugs, or hate my parents; if you think that's what it's about you're obviously too cynical ... to watch any movie. I left this movie, enlightened by the simple, beautiful idea that there is true beauty in the banal. And that is something to be treasured. If you don't like this movie, don't ruin it for everyone else. Cuz "everyone else" has understood and taken a truly great message from this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: American Beauty
Review: If there were 10 stars to rate, this film would get all 10. A film that unabashedly breaks out of the traditional Hollywood mould, this masterpiece will leave you breathless, and will definitely make you think... Probably not for everyone (my mother hated it), but if you're not shocked by the typically shocking, you will love this film. This is one time I actually agreed with the Academy's choice for Best Film. Beautifully written, masterfully directed, with powerful performances by every cast member, this is a film that won't soon be forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, but not worth the hype!
Review: I just got finished watching this movie and I must say that I enjoyed it a great deal. It was not exactly what I expected it to be, but none the less it was cast and directed beautifuly. Kevin Spacey was great as the love him or hate him Lester, and Annette Benning was also believable in her role. Everybody was perfectly cast in this film. The only thing I did not like about American Beauty was the fact I was depressed at the end. Not at the movie, but the mode the movie puts you in, and makes you look at life at a new level. I guess that is the point of the movie though, but the movie feels like something is missing. If you are a movie fan and you didn't get to see this movie yet, I recommend renting it. I heard if you see it twice you will appreciate it more, so thats exactly what I'm gonna do.
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal and Jaded
Review: If you work in a corporation and live in the suburbs, you will relate to this movie. The movie starts out on an odd note, where you hear the narrator, say that he will die in 1 year. You then hear that his daughter is discussing getting someone to kill him. Great set up for a movie. With that framework the fun begins. Kevin Spacey is a salesman in a company like most that is going through the gauntlet of re-organization. He is asked by a corporate hired "efficiency expert" to write his own job description. Many of us in corporate America know this is a two-edged sword. Make it good enough and you will eliminate a co-worker. Make it not good enough and eliminate yourself. Of course the efficiency expert, is new to the company and has little respect for loyalty and past successes. Kevin's screen wife is Annette Bening, she is a plastic suburban real estate agent. The world doesn't meet her standard's so she left it long ago to become Martha Stewart. Every now and then the cracks show through and she does a wonderful scene demonstrating that. Their daughter is the typical teenager, has everything, and hates the people that provided it. Especially her father, who walks on egg-shells at home, to keep from bursting his plastic wife's bubble. Their neighbors are perfect. On one side we have the 90's gay couple trying to be the perfect neighbors and fitting in with typical suburban life. On the other side the newcomers, they have a military type father, that is so anti-gay it is a cartoon. His son is apparently recently returned from a drug rehab-psych. ward. The military guy's wife looks like she is treading a thin line between father and son. Ironically, the son is the saner of the three of them. With all this in mind Kevin Spacey coping with potential job cuts, his wife dealing with a highly competitive California real estate market and the daughter going through the trauma of a teenager, you have a situation ripe for one of them to blow. Pretty much they all do. Kevin Spacey meets the new neighbors, the neighbors meet each other. Remember the anti-gay military guy and the suburban gay couple. You can figure the rest. Through several incidents, Annette Benings real-estate party, going to the daughters game at school, a rough real estate showing things start to twist around. Kevin Spacey is inspired to hand in the job description that we would love to give to the "efficiency" expert, but ties it up with a golden parachute that allows him to pursue other interests. He also decides he is entirely smitten with his daughter's vapid best friend. (It is amazing some of the comments this best friend makes.) His wife in "awe-inspired" bliss and over frustration of her husband's new attitude takes off on a new venture herself. (Hey, I don't want to tell you everything). The daughter in the mean time discovers the next door neighbor isn't so bad after all, and ends up with him. While things all seem to be headed down the path of new alliances, through some mistaken assumptions and incredibly bad timing a bomb that is about to go off gets it's fuse lit. You can see it coming. The problem is you don't know from which direction. No, I'm not going to tell you what happened. You really have to see the movie to appreciate the timing and the build up. How many people are going to see themselves in this movie?
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars is not enough for this masterpiece!
Review: The first time I saw this film I was left thinking, "...is this what the Academy considers for a Best Picture? It seems a bit odd for considering a Best Picture nomination." But then as the days went on I couldn't get the images and music from the movie out of my head. I must admit, I am a Kevin Spacey fan ever since "The Usual Suspects" and to see my favorite actor once again I knew it had to be good. It wasn't until the second time I saw the movie that it hit me like a freight train....this is my most favorite movie of all time. Everything is perfect. Even the surreal rose-petal sequences are a visual treat. The cast was given a razor sharp script to follow and each actor performed perfectly. Thomas Newman's haunting score was very intriguing. It think the ultimate scene that touched me was when Ricky (Wes Bentley) showed the simplicity of a paper bag being blown around by the wind to his girlfriend Jane (Thora Birch). The sheer magnitude of his finding beauty in something like that is why I love this film so much. The movie has a perfect blend of superior acting and cinematography. A brilliant job to Sam Mendes, the entire cast, and to the Academy for giving this film every Oscar that it deserved.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing is real & nothing to get hung about
Review: An odd & terribly depressing movie whose only consolation is the unreality of the characters. The lovable drug dealer was a particularly unreal Hollywood creation. Do you have neighbors like this? Move.
Rating:
Summary: Annoying
Review: After watching David Lynch's masterpiece A Straight Story I had the misfortune of sitting through American Beauty. I liked Kevin Spacey's performance, except for his idiotic monologue at the end. This is one of those movies that make me talk back to the screen, with insulting remarks. Move it along, director! Shoddy work can't be excused by inventive plot twists. Yes, it's politically correct to dislike the ex-marine who smacks his kid around, collects guns, and is a hard nose, and sure it's easy to take the cheap shot at this caricature and call him a closet queen. You may think this is cutting edge, but I think it's just a cheap shot at an obvious target. I couldn't stand the movie before most of this happened, so my dislike goes deeper than just this. This is just not a quality job. The director just did a lousy job. That's my reaction.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: American Beauty is a riveting, disturbing, and brilliant portrayal of the complexities of human emotion. Superb acting by Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. It is a movie which inspires thought and debate. Not to be missed , it should be seen more than once as there are so many levels to investigate. A marvelously engrossing and intelligent film.
Rating:
Summary: Another dYsFuNcTiOnAl FaMiLy comedy/melodrama - yO@iKz!
Review: Parts of this movie I found really really funny & on-target. Particularly Annette Bening's performance & especially the scene in which she preps the house to be sold & then has to deal with the clients. Kevin Spacey is a great actor but here it's as though they told him to be Homer Simpson _ he did OK _ but he was still playing a cartoon character. The satire kept getting broader & broader & then becomes menacing & suddenly we get this psycho neighbor whose home is like a concentration camp. Yoicks, Chris Cooper is so real, he makes Freddy Krueger look like Mr. Rogers. Then we get into some Lolita stuff, which for a while I found gutsy, until it turned shallow & sentimental. By the time the second hour rolled around I felt like I was watching someone knitting a sweater & the sleeves are getting to be ten feet long! Stop already! The ending was painfully sophomoric: When you're stuck with a way to resolve all those tricky sub-plots, KILL SOMEBODY! Preferably with a shiny gun. Dumb dumb dumb. And pretentious.
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