Reviewed by: Becca, Kris, & Jeff

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Produced by: Bruce Cohen & Dan Jinks

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, & Mena Suvari

1 hr. 58 min. A biting, penetrating and often humorous take on contemporary life in suburban America, Lester Burnham becomes intrigued by a young girl named Angela, and this fascination sparks him to make some major changes in his life. He relishes these changes, much to the exasperation of his wife Carolyn.

When I first watched this movie I didn't like it at all. The whole feel the movie had bothered me, and I guess that it didn't make a whole lot of sense at first. After spending a great deal of time saying I didn't like the movie, I came back to watch it again. Thinking that maybe now that I understood everything that it would be more enjoyable.

The second time I viewed American Beauty, I was in total awe. There is strong symbolism with objects, and so much more to this movie then what meets the eye. It truly is a dramatization of real life, how people react to one another. It showed how someone could hate something so much only because it wanted to be it, I believe that was a big issue most of the movie discussed. No one in the movie wanted to be what they were and they all wanted more, and some would lie and cheat to get there.

The ending of this movie is wonderful, there could not be a better ending for this type of movie. Although I have to say it is a shocker, I couldn't believe what happened the first time I watched it. But now I understand why it happened that way. I agree with Kris, this movie is alot like Donnie Darko. Both are excellent movies to see.

Accidently Deleted Coming Soon.

I had always heard that this movie was really weird and that it wasn’t any good, so I was kind of averse to watching it. I finally decided it was time to stop listening to everyone and see for myself, so I watched it. I must say that I loved this movie. It is now a new favorite of mine. It reminded me a lot of Donnie Darko, even though it is quite different than Donnie Darko, but it does have a lot of elements that Donnie Darko had.

I knew I was going to like American Beauty when I heard Kevin Spacey speaking to me from beyond the grave. That reminded me of the beginning of Sunset Boulevard, when the main character is telling us of his death and how his death came about. The same sort of thing happens in American Beauty. Spacey tells us he is going to die, then proceeds to tell us the story. Kevin Spacey’s character is a seen as a loser, and that drew me in. I knew he was going to change significantly throughout the movie, and I was glad and excited every time he showed me had changed. Spacey’s performance is brilliant in this. I am a fan of Spacey and his work, and this is no exception.

I liked the camera work in this film, especially the "amateur" filming by the neighbor. It gave American Beauty so much in my mind. I love to see how certain things are filmed, and the things they took notice of in this are amazing. Everything is beautiful in this film. The color red is very significant in the filming, and in almost every shot, the color red is in it. I’m glad I didn’t listen to what people said about this film, because I enjoyed it. If you like Donnie Darko you will probably like this film.