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Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari ... see more see more... , Chris Cooper , Peter Gallagher , Allison Janney , Scott Bakula , Sam Robards , Marissa Jaret Winokur , Amber Smith , Ara Celi , John Cho , Matthew Kimbrough , Sue Casey

Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark ... read more read more...side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with outward appearances. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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90% liked it

572,226 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

153 critics

R, 2 hr.

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Release Date: October 1, 1999

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DVD Release Date: January 2, 2002

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Stats: 36,409 reviews

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American Beauty American Beauty thora American Beauty Annette Bening in American Beauty American Beauty Jane Burnham Kevin Spacey in American Beauty American Beauty American Beauty Annette Bening Thora Birch & Mena Suvari American Beauty Thora Birch in American Beauty The Cheerleaders Thora and Mena smile, you're at mr. smileys Angela Hayes
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Flixster Reviews (36,409)

  • samoriley
    April 9, 2012
    samoriley
    American Beauty is close to a pure masterpiece. Superb acting from Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. Along with a unique soundtrack and fantastic story,this lovely film will show you not just an outlook on American life, but to 'look closer' at everything in life.
    This is true t... read moreo being an original and beautiful film that deserves a place amongst the best movies ever made.
  • fb733768972
    March 24, 2012
    fb733768972
    It is very difficult to describe my emotions throughout this film, but there was not a frame in this film where I didn't have a warm feeling in my heart. Through the darkest of times and through the happiest of times throughout this film, I felt connected to each and every charac... read moreter who contributed into the foundation of what human life truly means. Kevin Spacey, in one of the best performances I have ever seen on screen, helms one of the most defining roles in film history (my opinion). As Lester (Kevin Spacey) begins to fall in love with his daughters best friend and purchases drugs from his young neighbour who is curious about his daughter, he begins to turn his life inside out, into the way that he feels comfortable. The audience knows right from the beginning that this is a story of how he loses his life, but the journey of how he reaches peace is an absolutely facinating life adventure. I think "American Beauty" is one of the most important films in cinema that will ever be released. The shots capture the elements needed in order to display the images of true human beauty, the dialogue is stupendously written, the tone of the film makes you want to cheer as tears role down your face in happiness, and the directing is indescribable beyond belief. In my opinion, "American Beauty" is one of the best films of all time!
  • fb1463751009
    March 18, 2012
    fb1463751009
    First off, Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening are absolutely amazing. Cinematography is literally picture perfect and the direction was spot on. "American Beauty" is a hilarious, extremely intelligent movie with one of the most unique screenplays to grace cinema in the 90's. This is... read more an absolute must watch for any movie-goer.
  • garyX
    March 16, 2012
    garyX
    Lester Burnham is undergoing a serious midlife crisis; pining for his lost youth and obsessing over a teenage cheerleader, he's married to a joyless go-getter who encloses herself in an armour of sarcasm and self-help and has a daughter who he cannot communicate with and clearly ... read morehates his guts. Most of the laughs in this film are provided by Lester's social rebellion, but it's communication (or lack thereof) is what this wonderful film is all about. Full of people who feel suffocated by their own apparently meaningless lives, it's a story of ordinary people full of wants and needs but unable to express them because of the overwhelming feeling that they must do what is expected of them; they must at least APPEAR to be "normal". Lester's fantasies about the young girl are just projections of what he feels is missing from his life, just as his wife's desperate need for "success" are. The cast are all perfect, the multi-layered script sparkles with witty dialogue and it's full of memorable moments, culminating in a deeply moving, insightful and thought provoking finale. Genuinely beautiful.
  • LWOODS04
    February 20, 2012
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney, Scott Bakula, Sam Robards, Ara Celi, John Cho, Sue Casey, Amber Smith, Matthew Kimbrough

    Director: Sam Mendes

    Summary: While struggling to endure his ... read moreperfection-obsessed wife (Annette Bening), an unfulfilling job and a sullen teenage daughter (Thora Birch), suburbanite Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) falls deep into a midlife crisis and becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends (Mena Suvari).

    My Thoughts: "It was love at first sight with this dark, twisted, witty film. This is by far one of my top ten films that I just love and can watch anytime. Kevin Spacey is just brilliant in this film. Probably his best role ever. The entire cast was amazing. Every-one of them fit their role. Each character is so complex and messed up in their own unique way, and they draw you into their madness. You go on an emotional ride in this film. The twists and turns are masterly perfected. Wes Bentley was definitely the most haunted character. I really liked him in this. This film has it all, great directing, script, and performances. It's a must see!"
  • c0up
    February 18, 2012
    c0up
    'American Beauty'. Deeply dark, provocative humour and a stellar ensemble cast. What more can you expect when there's a script written by Alan Ball and direction by Sam Mendes?!
  • danperry17
    November 19, 2011
    danperry17
    Glad I re-watched this. The last time was the year that it came out, and I was 17. This time around, it reminded me of Garden State - a very adolescent film. Mendes has since gotten better - of course he eventually did Revolutionary Road, it all makes sense! - but this one is a l... read moreittle (a lot) on the precious side, appealing almost more for the angsty teenager storyline than for the midlife crisis that got Spacey his Oscar. The film's not without its insights, but the characters are so manichean and stiff in their purpsoses that overall, they aren't all that human. It's the point, to an extent - that all the life has been sucked out of these suburbanites - but the film plods along rather flatly. It's a film about being self-centred consumers, but it lays its point so bare that it often shakes you out of the illusion. A good early film from a decent director, but not one that stands the test of time.
  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    Rich in metaphor, messages, and philosophy, American Beauty put simply is a hundred percent subliminal beauty.
  • fb634552688
    September 7, 2011
    fb634552688
    I find it treacherous to sit and analyze what makes this a good film and attempt to reduce it to a mere list of pros and cons. So instead, I will simply admire the beauty of it, and I hope that you can too.
  • fb791220692
    August 15, 2011
    fb791220692
    Haunting and perfectly cast, American Beauty is a great example of film as literature

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Critic Reviews

Andrew Sarris
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

As the latest mainstream movie symptom of our premillennial malaise, American Beauty is so brilliantly acted, written, directed and visualized that for all its despondency and despair, it is a lot of ... Full Review

Edward Guthmann
June 18, 2002
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

A great, tremendously entertaining experience. I only wish there were more films this satisfying. Full Review

Rick Groen
March 19, 2002
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

This is definitely a knife-to-the-heart movie -- the kind whose potent effect is easy to feel yet hard to describe. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 22, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The kind of artful defiance that Hollywood is usually too timid to deliver: a jolting comedy that makes you laugh till it hurts.

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
January 1, 2000
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

At this point in the year, I'd readily call American Beauty one of the best movies of 1999. It is certainly the best-acted, with Kevin Spacey a standout among a stellar ensemble cast. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Mendes can stake a claim alongside the likes of Kubrick and Egoyan as one whose cinematic vision both challenges and entertains. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Superlatively well-made. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
January 1, 2000
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

American Beauty offers one of the best ensemble casts you'll see in any American movie this year. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
January 1, 2000
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

American Beauty is able to burrow inside the cliche to understand how it came to be.

Richard T. Jameson
January 1, 2000
Richard T. Jameson, Mr. Showbiz

One of the edgiest movies of the year.

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Facts

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    • Ricky Fitts: What's new in the world, Dad?
    • Colonel Fitts: This country is going straight to hell!
    • Ricky Fitts: Never underestimate the power of denial.
    • Caroline Burnham: I will sell this house today...
    • Lester Burnham: This isn't life, it's just stuff. And it's become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that's just nuts.
    • Ricky Fitts: She's not your friend, she's someone you use to feel better about yourself!
    • Angela Hayes: Go fuck yourself psycho!
    • Jane Burnham: Hey shut up bitch!
    • Angela Hayes: Jane, he's a freak!
    • Jane Burnham: Well than so am I, and we'll always be freaks and never be like other people, and you'll never be a freak, because you're too .. perfect.
    • Angela Hayes: Yeah, well, at least I'm not ugly.
    • Ricky Fitts: Yes you are .. and you're boring .. and you're totally ordinary .. and you know it.
    • Angela Hayes: You two deserve each other.
    • Ricky Fitts: If I had to leave tonight, would you come with me?
    • Jane Burnham: What?
    • Ricky Fitts: If I had to go to New York, to live, would you come with me?
    • Jane Burnham: Yes.
    • Angela Hayes: You guys can't be serious, you're just a kid, and he's, like, a mental case, you'll end up living in a box on the street!
    • Jane Burnham: I'm no more a kid than you are! .. We can use my plastic surgery money.
    • Colonel Fitts: We won't have to, I have over $40,000 and I know people in the city who can help us get set up.
    • Angela Hayes: What, other drug dealers?
    • Ricky Fitts: Yes!
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American Beauty Trivia

  • Thora Birch was only 17 when she filmed her brief nude scene in American Beauty, so permission from her parents was required.  Answer »
  • Which actor played in the Negotiator, American Beauty and the usual suspects?  Answer »
  • Which actor was in all of the following movies: American Beauty, Usual Suspects, A Bug's Life & Hurlyburly?  Answer »
  • What average everyday object is seen blowing in the wind in "American Beauty"?  Answer »
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