American Beauty (Widescreen Edition)

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This is a good film and and I would like it except for two things: The title and the fact there was nothing to feel good about in watching this film--it was depressing. It is a not-so-subtle attack on middle class American values and institutions. Targets are the American Military, Marriage, gun ownership, corporate America/capitalism, consumerism, traditional morals and sexual mores etc....The only thing the writers left out was religion--none of the cast of dysfunctional people were church going christians. I am sure this was a oversight. The title was off putting because it suggests that Americans have empty, dysfunctional, meaningless lives. This film is a left-wing diatribe with a social agenda to bash american society using many liberal cliches and unlikable, one-dimensional characters. Maybe I read too much into it.

The only semi normal, healthy people were the two gay neighbors; everyone else is a mess. Of course, the worst writing came with the new family next door with the father being a Marine Colonel. He was portrayed as a domineering man incapable of expressing his feelings and love for his family. He imposed harsh discipline and physical abuse for even minor infractions. Of course he had a large gun collection and Nazi memorabilia. His disdain for his gay neighbors is on complete display and of course we find out that this disdain is only there to hide his own latent homosexuality. How tiresome! The realtor/wife of the main character builds confidence and feels "powerful" by learning to shoot a gun. The only semi-likable character is Kevin Spacey's who is a guy in a mid-life crises brought on by his own sexual frustration and infatuation with---the friend of his daughter. He quits his job, and tells off those corporate creeps. He black mails them into a year's salary. We are supposed to feel okay about that because they deserve it. Then he pursues and seduces his daughters best friend. In the process he buys the car he wanted as a teenager, starts smoking pot again and listens to rock music. The only redemption for him comes at the end when he doesn't go through with the little affair he had been planning--but he comes awful close. The message of this film is: don't be uptight-express your feelings, smoke pot and have sex. Sounds a bit like turn on, tune in and drop out. A classic film for 60's rejects.

The artistry in this film comes in the way it is told on the screen. It moves along at a nice pace and keeps you off-balance and guessing. There are a few poetic scenes when the neighbor boy and son of the marine talks about his desire to film and his contemplation of beauty, which gives the film its title. I don't care to see it again.

Guest

American Beauty (Widescreen Edition)

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This is one of my favorite movies and it gets better each time you watch it. You can identify with some of the characters in the movie and although it is dark and sad, it has a moral to the story and the ending was just amazingly done. Even though your sad for the main character, you still realize that his life had finished in a weirdly positive way. Hence the smile at the end. I highly recommend this movie. It should be in everyone's DVD collection and is one of those movies you can watch over and over again without getting bored. And it is not entirely always dark. There is comedy woven into the movie as well. Again, one of the best Kevin Spacey movies ever.

Guest

American Beauty (Widescreen Edition)

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American Beauty reflects the beginnings of the "Impressionistic" stage of movie making. The scenes and characters are conglomerations of situations and "types" of people... The real estate agent, the bored commercial writer, the unhappy teenager, the uptight military officer, the Stepford wife, the abused son, etc. Each person plays his role according to his type.

The movie successfully reveals pent up emotions beautifully such as when the real estate agent ends her day of promoting a home she's selling by bursting into tears after the last visitor leaves. I'd never really thought about how painful it is to be upbeat about selling so-so real estate.

Yes, this movie has shortcomings, but it succeeds in its ability to reveal emotions without filling in every detail. Be reminded that on one hand the story is depressing, yet on the other it is uplifting because the harmed party did it his way.

Not a first date type of flick. It is genuinely made for intense discussion.

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