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American Beauty

1999 • 121 minutes
3.7
1.78K reviews
87%
Tomatometer

About this movie

Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with outward appearances. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball.

Ratings and reviews

3.7
1.78K reviews
Brandy Boyd
February 12, 2021
American Beauty,wow amazing i love to watch that movie that's very interesting.pls let me say it again that i love it ;-) Thanks for reading my view.
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bonolo mogopudi
June 4, 2021
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13 people found this review helpful
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Alber Pedraza
December 30, 2016
La película no solo te atrapa desde el primer minuto en que lo ves, sino que también logra dejarte en un estado psicológico y te pone a pensar. Para quiénes tan solo quieren disfrutar de un drama, sin importar específicamente de que tema trate, pues se recomienda totalmente esta película. La película está muy bien dirigida y cuenta con un elenco perfecto, donde todos, sin excepción, forma una historia muy bien construida, y con un guión que pega muy bien con la trama.
1,530 people found this review helpful
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