A film review by Jeffery Sanders Copyright © 1999 Jeffery Sanders

Poor, poor Lester. At age 42, he is stuck in a dead-end job, a meaningless marriage, and a love-less family. Every single day is just one more step towards the end of his life. He has nothing to look forward to besides his morning shower/jerk-off session. But his life takes a turnaround the moment he meets his daughter’s friend Angela (American Pie’s Mena Suvari). Seduced by her good looks, he decides to start living again. He starts doing what he wants to do, acting how he wants to act, and saying what he wants to say.

That is only one of the intertwining plots in this enthralling dark-comedy. Other’s include Lester’s wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), a career obsessed ice-queen; their daughter Jane who becomes the target of the creepy next-door neighbor who films her every move; the relationship between the creepy next door neighbor (Wes Bently) and his military father (Chris Cooper). This is one of those movies that is nearly impossible to describe, because one doesn’t want to spoil anything for the viewer.

Performances are fantastic all around. Even when a character goes a little over-the-top they are still likable. Even the seemingly bloodless Carolyn. Spacey, Bening and Cooper all deserve Oscar nods. Thora Birch and Wes Bently are both very talented young actors, and Men Suvari gives a hilarious performance that is completely different from her role in this year’s other "American" film (the one about the pie).

The first hour of this movie is hilarious, perhaps one of the funniest hours I’ve seen all year. From there the movie slowly slides from pitch black humor to emotionally complex drama. The transition is seamless. By the end of the movie you’ll be amazed that such a funny film could be so emotionally heart-felt. American Beauty never holds back but never feels the need to push the viewer into the realm of disturbia.

One aspect of the movie I really liked was that, in the first few minutes we are delivered a line of information that stays with us all the way until the end when it is revealed. It’s a mystery that makes us think throughout the movie and may even taint our feelings about certain characters. It’s possible to hate a character during the movie all the way up to the final 5 minutes when we realize we were wrong about them the whole time. You’ll want to apologize to the characters.

The movie made many good points, but an underlying theme was the concept of being normal. Trying extremely hard just to be normal, is anything except normal. But the people I saw the movie with came out with other ideas. I don’t think I’ve though so much during a movie all year and intellectual stimulation is one of the greatest gifts cinema can offer. Please see American Beauty. It’s an enormously entertaining picture that is worthy of all the buzz surrounding it.

One of the best films of the year.

9/10

	Running Time: 121 Min | Rated R | US Release: October 1st | More >>

Related Links:

• Official Site
• Bomis: American Beauty Ring
• Moviefan Online - American Beauty
• Upcomingmovies.com: American Beauty

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