American Beauty (1999)

Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch; d. Sam Mendes; A

American Beauty follows the final year in the life of Lester Burnham (Oscar winner Kevin Spacey). Lester lives in a dreary suburban town in a family from hell. His wife, Carol (Annette Bening), is a real-estate agent whose repression has made her an emotionless zombie. His daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), is your typical, adverage teen angst poster child. And Lester is an underapriciated working class citizen, whose job and family are not only boring him but also possibly driving him insane. And, frankly, he's had enough. Trouble begins when Lester meets Jane's cheerleading friend, Angela (Mena Suvari), a bubbly Lolita who no doubt grabs Lester's attention and imagination. Awakened by this new love, Lester starts a quest for emotional freedom. He quits his job and hilariously threatens a sexual harrassment suit on his male supervisor, and gets a job at the local fast food restaurant as a casheir. He starts working out and forms an aquaitance with next door neighbor Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), a restautant waitor and drug dealer. Ricky is also starting an acquaitance with Jane, whom he is hopelessly in love with. He's constantly recording Jane on his camera, which at first annoys Jane. But when she finds out the reason behind Ricky's strange recording habits, she appricates it. The two begin dating, in spite of Angela's consatnt insults against Ricky, whom she thinks is crazy. On the other hand, Carol is starting an affair with a local real-estate agent (Peter Gallager). But while everyone is finding happiness on their own, they are no where near acheiving joy with each other, and an unfortunate event makes it impossible for that to every happen.

The messege of American Beauty, despite its dreary package, is a rather inspiring one - That no one should be allow themselves to be reduced to apperances that make them discontent. But, it's not as clear cut as it seems. While Lester's quest for happiness results in his joy over bordom and depression, he also alienates his family members. So is Lester's persuit of happiness truly productive or is it entirely selfish? No doubt, you feel happy for Lester as he breaks away from everything that makes him feel dejected, but his methods of getting out of them tend to be on the destructive side. He turns to drugs to make him feel young and he makes the income rely entirely on his hard-working wife when he takes a minium-wage job. He also obviously lusts after his daughter's friend and has no remourse over it, even when she asks him specifically to stop. Obviously this girl is going through some severe emotional problems but he choses to ignore it for his own problems. Carol is also inconsiderate as she places money and success over everything else. She thinks that Jane should be happy because of all the things that she has, she doesn't want to have sex with Lester when a bottle of beer threatens to spill its conents on an Italian silk couch, and she relies on tapes, not other people, or in Lester's case himself, for her own motivation. Jane is the typical angst-ridden teenager who feels insecure about herself and this shows it outwardly. On the other hand, her friend, Angela, is also insecure about herself but shows it by insulting other people and making up fake stories of sexual encounterss. The Fitts are as dysfuctional as the Burnhams. The mother (Allison Janney) is a mousy woman who can't do anything but stare off into space. The father (Chris Cooper) is a homophobic retired Marine who is still living in his is service days and lets his hatred get the best of him, often in violent outbursts. Ricky is probably the most ironic character of the entire movie. He is the smartest of them all, he can outsmart anyone, especially his dumbwitted father. But he's a compassionate young man, and a very thoughtful one. He's given some of the movie's most beautiful and introspective lines, especially during the scene when he explains to Jane why he has a recording of a plastic bag flying around in the wind. But while he's compassionate he's also a drug dealer. The only well adjusted people in this movie is the gay couple who live next door to the Burnhams.

In a year of great movies (The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Virgin Suicides, among others), it was hard for just one movie to stick out and announce itself as the best. But, American Beauty succeeded and still succeeds. The film has several flaws but they all hold up together, along with several brillant spots, to create an effective and excellent film. I can only express great joy that they cut out the courtroom plot that supposedly was in the original script, leaving us with a writing masterpeice. I think both Alan Ball and Sam Mendes diserved their Oscars, as well as the picture for Best Picture, but Kevin Spacey I am not too sure. Yes he gave a great performance but I'm sure there were others who gave better performances. The best performance comes from Bentley who was, of course, given the best character. If there could have been only one actor nominated for American Beauty, it should have been Bentley instead of Spacey. Also noticiable is the excellent, award-winning cinematography from the legendary Conrad Hall. Superb use of the color red through out the picture. I highly reccomend this picture. It may be weak in some parts but as a whole it is unforgettable.

© Vert A Go Go Reviews 2001