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 #78 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 106 wins & 102 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

adulterous wife | cheating wife | midlife crisis | unfaithful wife | breasts | 

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Taglines:

... look closer

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Gallagher previously starred in The Player (1992). Thomas Newman composed the music for that film, as well as American Beauty (1999). Also both films are satires; The Player focuses on Hollywood and American Beauty focuses on suburbia.

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Goofs

The "Nazi" plate is an obvious fake. It looks like the art department applied a swastika decal from a plastic model airplane kit to an unmarked plate of non-German origin. German porcelain of the era was extensively marked: hero "nazi" plate lacks manufacturer/factory mark, city mark, date of manufacture and the stylized Art Deco Third Reich "Eagle" acceptance mark (eagle clutching a wreath in its talons which surrounds the swastika). There are thousands of surviving authentic pieces from original period services floating around with correct markings, examples from major German porcelain makers including Rosenthal are readily available.

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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?

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in Mouse in My House (2006)

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Soundtracks

All Along The Watchtower
Written and Performed by Bob Dylan
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

WOW

What a fun movie, nubile teen is cute and has a loving relationship with her friend's dad ... And some good distressing moments, corporate malfeasance, closeted army type, cheating cheap wife and a lot of love involved ... And that romantic ending, wonderful soundtrack, I cried, dramatic ...

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 Pictures, Jinks/Cohen Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1