American Beauty (1999)

A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.

Director:

Sam Mendes

Writer:

Alan Ball

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch

Top Rated Movies #76 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 106 wins & 101 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Lester Burnham
Annette Bening	...	Carolyn Burnham
Thora Birch	...	Jane Burnham
Wes Bentley	...	Ricky Fitts
Mena Suvari	...	Angela Hayes
Peter Gallagher	...	Buddy Kane
Allison Janney	...	Barbara Fitts
Chris Cooper	...	Colonel Fitts
Scott Bakula	...	Jim Olmeyer
Sam Robards	...	Jim Berkley
Barry Del Sherman	...	Brad
Ara Celi	...	Sale House Woman #1
John Cho	...	Sale House Man #1
Fort Atkinson	...	Sale House Man #2
Sue Casey	...	Sale House Woman #2

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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

adulterous wife | cheating wife | midlife crisis | unfaithful wife | virginity | 

---

Taglines:

... look closer

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence and drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

A shot where Lester and Ricky share a cannabis joint behind a building came from a misunderstanding between Conrad L. Hall and Sam Mendes. Mendes asked Hall to prepare the shot in his absence; Hall assumed the characters would look for privacy, so he placed them in a narrow passage between a truck and the building, intending to light from the top of the truck. When Mendes returned, he explained that the characters did not care if they were seen. He removed the truck and Hall had to rethink the lighting; he lit it from the left, with a large light crossing the actors, and with a soft light behind the camera. Hall felt the consequent wide shot "worked perfectly for the tone of the scene".

---

Goofs

When Angela meets Lester for the second time (by the refrigerator) her head is touching the corner of the wall. In the reverse angle of Lester, her head is away from the wall (so the camera can see Lester).

---

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?

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

Spoofed in Storytelling (2001)

---

Soundtracks

Cancer For The Cure
Written by Mark Oliver Everett (as E) and Mickey Petralia
Performed by Eels
Courtesy of DreamWorks Records

User Reviews

One of my faves of the year...simply great.

This movie was a joy to watch. I didn't know what to expect when I came into it. I had heard the buzz of the acting and the story, etc...but we've all heard that before and had been disappointed, but not so with this one.

Kevin Spacey plays this part to a "T". He is strong when it requires and meek when it is needed. His emotional rollercoaster ride is a trip to partake in. Annette Bening is marvelous as well. I think they both should be nominated.

The support cast is also spectacular. Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari all give great performances as the troubled "Teenagers" in the film. Of particular mention is Wes Bentley's performance, worthy of a supporting nomination as well.

This is a dramatic and funny tale of a man and his life in a state of turmoil and transition. When he happens to see a beautiful friend of his daughter's at a cheerleading exhibition, he is completely infatuated with her beauty. Using this as his inspiration, he attempts to change all aspects of his life. He confronts his marriage, his job, his ego, and his libido.

The music in this film is also very well chosen. There are moments when the music fits so perfectly with the scene that they meld together as one to present a perfect emotion.

The plot can get rather involved, but you will follow it endlessly to see where you go. I was simply involved, hook, line and sinker.

See this movie more than once, and skip some of the other movies out now that are dare I say, trash.

This should be on the top of many critic's lists this year and it is certainly on top of mine.

My Rating (1 - 10): 10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Beauty

Filming Locations:

11388 Homedale Street, Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$861,531, 19 September 1999

Gross USA:

$130,096,601

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$356,296,601

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Jinks/Cohen Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1