Review: AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)
December 10th 2008 02:05
American Beauty - 9/10
Many people would not think twice about a movie that deals with a 40-something man who smokes copious amounts of pot and dreams of having sex with his daughter's underage best friend. But then again, American Beauty is not like most movies, and should always be considered as a choice when renting or buying a movie. You have to consider every movie carefully, especially this film. I mean, the basic premise behind it is to 'look closer.'
Lester Burnham (Spacey) is a loser. He has no redeeming qualities, nothing about him that makes him more than the ordinary generation-xer, who was basically under the impression when growing up that if you have a good job and a good family, that everything else in life would fall in place. Carolyn Burnham (Benning) is a successful realtor who has everything a woman could ask for: a great job, a nice house in a beautiful neighborhood, and furniture in said home that could rival any royal establishment. Jane Burnham (Thora Birch) is your 'typical teen.' She is confused about many aspects of life, including whether or not looks really do bring you the happiness you are looking for in life. In order to find that happiness, she has been saving up her babysitting money since she was evelen to get a boob job.
This is the way the Burnhams have been living for years. Lester can remember a time when things were different, when the trio actually could sit down at the dinner table and have a real conversation, when Lester could embrace his wife and feel true love, when he could look at life and truly be happy. But something happened; somewhere down the road, everything changed, the Burnhams never saw it coming, and never expected it to be any different. Lester figured he would spend the rest of his days jerking off in the mornings, pretending to enjoy his job, and dreaming of a life that 'doesn't so closely resemble hell.'
However, it's never too late to make your life what it was meant to be.
Everything changes for the Burnham family when they finally get new neighbors next door. The father of the family, Colonel Frank Fitts USMC (Cooper), his wife Barbara (Allison Janney), and their strangely appealing son Ricky (Wes Bently) quickly adapt to the suburban life. Along with the new neighbors in Lestor's life, comes Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), Jane's very beautiful, yet very shallow best friend, who Lester immediately grows attracted to. One night while staying over at the Burnham's, Lester overhears Angela kidding around with Jane, saying she would sleep with Lester if he worked out a bit...
...Lester finds his new lease on life, awaking from a coma that he only then began to realize he was in. Angela is his goal, his obsession, and he will do anything he can to get his life back to where it was.
American Beauty has to be the most moving film to come out of Hollywood since...actually, to tell you the truth, I don't think I have been this moved and motivated by a studio released film ever.
Kevin Spacey was born to play the role of Lester Burnham. I say this phrase quite a bit with a lot of actors who do a damn good job, but it has never fit so well until Spacey came along and blew me away.
This film's story is so intertwined with every character in it, that watching it once is never enough, but no matter what conclusions anyone comes to, or any deep philosophical meanings they find, there is one simple and true motive behind this film. It is to look closer at every little thing in life, and learn to appreciate everything you have. What Lester found out during the course of this film was that he did not have to smoke pot or masturbate every morning to fictional women to have pure happiness. He just had to look closer at what he had to find out that he had everything he needed: a beautiful wife, a great daughter, and a life that didn't resemble hell, but a life that just looked like that up close. While it did take doing drugs and trying to have sex with his daughter's best friend, Lester found it out none the less.
I will part you with the final words of the film, that leaves me in goosebumps every time:
"I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me. But it's so hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold onto it, and then it flows through me like rain, and I can't help but feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life."
Look closer at American Beauty. If you haven't seen it, or didn't like it, give it another shot. This is one film you cannot miss.
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