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American Beauty (1999)

R | | Drama | 1 October 1999 (USA)
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A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.

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Top Rated Movies #65 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 104 wins & 100 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
... Lester Burnham
... Carolyn Burnham
... Jane Burnham
... Ricky Fitts
... Angela Hayes
... Buddy Kane
... Barbara Fitts
... Colonel Fitts
... Jim Olmeyer
... Jim Berkley
... Brad
... Sale House Woman #1
... Sale House Man #1
Fort Atkinson ... Sale House Man #2
Sue Casey ... Sale House Woman #2
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Storyline

After his death sometime in his forty-third year, suburbanite Lester Burnham tells of the last few weeks of his life, during which he had no idea of his imminent passing. He is a husband to real estate agent Carolyn Burnham and father to high school student Janie Burnham. Although Lester and Carolyn once loved each other, they now merely tolerate each other. Typical wallflower Janie too hates both her parents, the three who suffer individually in silence in their home life. Janie tries to steer clear of both her parents. Carolyn, relatively new to the real estate business, wants to create the persona of success to further her career, she aspiring to the professional life of Buddy Kane, the king of the real estate business in their neighborhood. Lester merely walks mindlessly through life, including at his job in advertising. His company is downsizing, and he, like all the other employees, has to justify his position to the newly hired efficiency expert to keep his job. Things change ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

midlife crisis | drug dealer | domestic violence | adulterous wife | father son relationship | See All (386) »

Taglines:

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Genres:

Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence and drug content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks | Official Facebook

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

1 October 1999 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Belleza americana  »

Filming Locations:

 »
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Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$861,531, 19 September 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$130,096,601

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$226,200,000
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original script, Lester enjoyed country music, much to the annoyance of Jane and Carolyn. See more »

Goofs

When Ricky begins recording Jane, the camera makes the sound of ejecting the tape. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Jane Burnham: I need a father who's a role model, not some horny geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts whenever I bring a girlfriend home from school. What a lame-o. Someone really should just put him out of his misery.
Ricky Fitts: Want me to kill him for you?
Jane Burnham: Yeah. Would you?
See more »

Crazy Credits

thanks to all at the Donmar Warehouse in London and Dr. Bill and Alice See more »

Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Surrogates/Pandorum/Fame (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

Because
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith appears courtesy of DreamWorks Records
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Close To Perfection
12 November 2007 | by – See all my reviews

The intention is so clear that everything else falls into place, perfectly. Kevin Spacey's suburban husband and father reminded me of his character in "The Ref" and that could only be a good thing. Annette Bening and her giggle works wonders here. Their marriage is a tabloid version of a "Who's Afraid To Virginia Woolf" Which means very close to someone we know. The biggest surprises in the film. besides the amazing dexterity of Sam Mendes at his first outing behind the camera, are West Bentley. Chris Cooper, Thora Brch and Allison Janney. As I'm writing this 8 years after its first release, the Oscars and the whole hullabaloo, I'm very surprised that West Bentley hasn't become a major star. He is amazing in "American Beauty" the complexities of his character are based on recognizable human stands, the hardest to face up to and I went where he went. Thora Birch is lovely as the object of his attention and the film, I believe, is here to say.
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