May 9, 2002

United States. English. Color. 122 minutes. Available: VCR and DVD.

Crew
Director: Sam Mendes
Writing Credits: Alan Ball
Cinematographer: Conrad L. Hall
Editing: Tariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury
Original Music: Thomas Newman, Pete Townshend
Production Design: Naomi Shohan
Art Director: David Lazan
Producers: Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
Co-producers: Stan Wlodkowski, Alan Ball

Cast

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 Frank Fitts

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) lives in his perfect suburban home with his perfect suburban family. He has two cars, a nice home, a well paying job, a loving wife and sweet daughter. But everything is not so perfect. Carolyn Burnham (Annette Bening) is an anal, dispassionate workaholic who believes the image of success is everything, even if in reality her family is falling apart. Jane Burnham (Thora Birch) is suffering from general teenage angst and depression and intensely resents both of her parents. Lester floats through the routine of his day, explaining to us (through a voice over from the already dead Lester's point of view in looking back) that his wife and daughter hate him, he hates his job where he works at a cubicle and is under appreciated, and the high point of his day is masturbating in the shower. He feels more dead than alive until he spots Jane's best friend at a basketball game as the girls are cheerleading. From this point on, Lester begins fantasizing about Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) and feels that he has finally woken up from his depressing, bland, meaningless life. He begins working out and listening to music that he once did as a teenager. He also quits his job after threatening the company into paying him a years salary after threatening to file false sexual harassment against his boss and tell the newspapers that the head boss has been buying prostitutes with company money. Lester also finally stands up to his annoying and controlling wife. In the meantime, Jane is being somewhat innocently stalked by the new neighborhood teenager Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley). He watches and tapes her with his video camera, but the movie makes him out to be sweet rather than creepy. Ricky is an intelligent, quiet, sensitive boy who sells expensive weed and videotapes virtually everything around him to help him experience and appreciate life. His father is an ex-military homophobic (and homosexual in denial) who keeps Ricky under tight watch and occasionally has him take urine tests to make sure he is off drugs. Ricky falls in love with Jane, and, after she decides that he is not so creepy after all, they begin dating. He also befriends Lester, and they become pot-smoking buddies. Carolyn becomes frustrated with Lester's sudden burst of defiance and works harder than ever at her job. She soon has an affair with Buddy the Real Estate King who is as unfeeling and pretentious as she. Angela is shallow and to mask her own insecurity constantly puts Jane down for being plain. After some serious flirting with Lester, that she is ready for a real affair with Lester. Lester's dream has come true. However, when he finally gets the chance, he backs down. The film ends when Ricky's father thinks that Lester and his son are having a homosexual relationship and shoots Lester in the back of the head, after making a pass at him and being denied. Jane and Ricky run away together, and Carolyn breaks down at seeing her murdered husband, even though moments earlier she had a loaded gun and was going to shoot him herself.

Ansen, David. "What 'American' Dream? A darkly comic peek at the bleak underbelly of suburbia." Newsweek, 22 Sep. 1999: 68.

David Ansen calls this film "a very funny film that packs an unexpected emotional wallop." Ansen thoroughly approves of this film and gives ample back-up reasons. He does not deny that the film deals with an old theme, but he has no problem with this. In fact, he feels that the extremely talented Mendes and brilliant Alan Ball make this theme feel "strikingly new." He does not, as the other critics seem to, feel the film makes any claim that they have discovered something new-exposing the hollow despairing lives of the suburban middle-class. In the end, he feels the stiff and unfeeling characters come to life emotionally and become real. He commends the fact that the strangest character in the film, Ricky Fitts, seems to be the moral center of the film. This is a fantastic review, which shows how to delve deeper into the great cinematography of Conrad Hall and writing and directing skills of Mendes and Ball. He appreciates the creatively and message of the film. Ansen sums up the meaning wonderfully: "It's about the power of the images we have in our heads, and the painful gulf between those fantasies and the reality we can't seem to grasp." However, he ends by saying it has a bleak diagnosis, whereas I feel that the film is a creative and moving revelation, which leaves room for hope in the end.

Arthur, Paul. "American Beauty." Cineaste 25 (Spring 2000): 51-54.

It seems the only thing that Paul Arthur liked about the film American Beauty was the bright visual images that weave throughout the film. The fact that he is saying this somewhat negatively is ironic because one of the main themes of the film is visual beauty and how our society relates to it. He also found the themes of the movie to be hackneyed and played out. He believes that the story of a middle-class white male, bored with his under-appreciative job and deadened by overindulgence and consumerism while depressed by his numb marriage and poor relationship with teenage daughter in a socially defected society, is overdone. He often makes subtle sarcastic comments about the media's full acceptance and approval of this film. Arthur laughs at the idea that this is "an authentic Life Lesson, a spiritual world view grounded in discover of beauty in mundane existence." He goes on to add bitterly that the movie cannot be saved by its "sumptuous imagery and a wily structure."

Some credit is given to the film when he admits that this movie serves a minor function: to show how America is obsessed with materialism and the image of being successful. However, he feels that this idea of becoming numbed over does not give the main character the right to be "socially obnoxious" as a means of finally finding himself and the meaning of life. He also accuses the movie of copying other films which have dealt with this theme such as Sunset Boulevard, Pulp Fiction, Blue Velvet, and Bringing out the Dead to name a few. I do not think this article sums up the movie very well, or is justified in its accusations. First of all, Arthur contradicts himself when he says in the beginning that American Beauty is the same-old, same-old, and then in the finish of his essay claims that it does not lack imagination. He also seems to be missing the point of the theme of several different kinds of beauty, and not just that of physical or imagery.

Arthur fails to set up a good argument for comparing this movie to the others he listed. He took issue with the film's tendency to support Lester's "obnoxious behavior" as a way to become enlightened. There is nothing in the movie that absolutely says his behavior was right, only that it happened to be the way he finally came to he realization. Overall, Arthur found this movie overrated, and his arguments do not fulfill the accusation.

Hentzi, Gary. "American Beauty." Film Quarterly 54 (Winter 2000): p46.

Gary Hentzi gives a little more credit to the film than does Arthur, but not much. He also feels that this film deals mainly with "hackneyed themes." Like Arthur, he wonders why audiences and critics alike praised this film as highly as they did. He calls American Beauty a vital, but uneven film. Among the worn-out themes, he finds sections of creativity, such as the way "teenagers and adults imagine each others' lives" In the end, Lester does not go through with his fantasy, which Hentzi calls "romantic irony" and thinks Mendes did well with this. Hentzi also gives credit to Mena Suvari's character and feels she is the most believable youth in the story. Otherwise, he believes the characters may seem to be original, but can be found stereotypically throughout history. Carol, for example, is the kind of woman character, which was shaped out of the postwar era. The film supports this theory not only by her overall "'momism'" and control of the household, but in more particulars, such as the way she listens to music of that generation. He feels also that Lester is the male of film noir, perhaps in a lesser form. As for the other characters, he feels they too are "plainly conventional."

He takes issue with the theme of using a video camera as a way to see the world. The way the character Ricky uses this method to seek out beauty shows that physical imagery is inseparable from human emotion. He even goes so far as to say that Mendes and Ball (director and screenwriter) identify with this teenager, and this is a major fault. Ricky is wealthy and is not a struggling young artist, but well on his way to success. He feels that this fact fills some kind of need for first-time filmmaker Mendes, fulfilling his "dream of being able to finance one's own projects" He is disturbed that the "question of income should be so insignificant a problem" in the movie. Hentzi explains that he does not discuss plot because the movie seems to be more focused on the psychologies of the characters, which he claims are "honed" over the making of the film. He also feels that the murder scene's only function was to build suspense. A vague sense of annoyance accompanies all Hentzi states about the movie.

With all of the issues he has with this film, Hentzi still asserts that it is important to cinema and should be viewed by all. He merely fears that many have not taken up a discussion of its weaknesses and all are accepting it with open arms. He is not validated in his assessment of character. All of the characters have originality, even if they contain aspects of conventionality. What point was he was trying to make about the post-war mother and film noir father?

His notion about Mendes and Ball's personal connection or seeming vicariousness to teenagers in the film is pulled from left field. I merely think that some (not even all) of the youths in the film still have a chance not to be drawn into numbness and an overall feeling of mediocrity. His point about how income and the fact that Ricky is a drug dealer in the film and this is viewed as acceptable is understandable, but Mendes was trying to show the perception of what is really harmful, and what is not in society. For example, Ricky's father's sexual denial causes him to act the part of "a real American man," on the outside but in reality it causes him beat his son. Ricky's job causes him to afford things, which in turn provide him with the means to seeing beauty in life, even though he may be seen as a punk drug dealer. Mendes was careful with the issue and Hentzi overlooks this. It seems a strange point to make that since Ricky sees beauty through a lens, he is judging beauty on an imagery basis only. Even Hentzi adds that Ricky explains that he (Ricky) feels there is a "presence [in the world] telling him he need never worry." He says the filmmaker's unfortunately use "the camera as a means of revelation rather than an instrument of power." This is untrue. The camera is a tool for Ricky, not a way of life. Hentzi puts down the film for the most part, and then in the end, tries to save himself by giving it a sort of thumbs up.

Romney, Jonathan. "Oddly run-of-the mill FILM." New Statesman, 31 Jan. 2000: 46. Yet again, a negative review.

As the previous critics, Romney believes this film is a played out "ready-made mid-life crisis story spelt out in broad strokes" and has been done before. Blue Velvet, Magnolia and, The Ice Storm are all examples of films that it copies. He praises the acting more than the other articles and thought that the talented actors had to "breathe life" into the somewhat hollow characters. He claims "American Beauty is indeed a class act, yet it's oddly run-of-the-mill." However, he fails to add what about this film makes it a class act, besides the performances. As with the others, he believes there is nothing too deep in the message the film is sending. He ridicules the film's tagline, "Look Closer" by asking you to do so and claiming there's nothing to find. He argues his point well, but I still affirm that it is not the point that this film deals with a theme that has been done before. Romney fails to uncover the layer of the films meanings by asserting it is a neat package with not much depth dealing with themes already covered. He does not delve into the great character development and Mendes question of what beauty is. He fails to notice the profound discoveries the characters make about themselves and about others in the film.

Simon, John. "Hot'Burbs, Hotter Paris." National Review, 11 Oct. 1999: 63.

John Simon is an echo of the previous articles. He too believes this film was wildly overrated. The acting was merely "adequate" and he admits the movie had its good parts and funny moments, mostly from the good dialogue. He has a problem with the fact that it was seen as a film that "pushed the envelope" and he fails to see where it does this so remarkably. Basically the article is a numbered list of the events in the film. I suppose he does this to show just how unshocking the events are, but he does little more than sum up the plot. After getting through this, he is annoyed that viewers and critics view the gay neighbors as the most normal couple in the film, claiming that we don't see enough of them to really know. I do agree with this, but at the same time do think it was significant in the film for the two Jims (the gay couple) to seem the nicest and sane people of the film.

It is peculiar that he says it is ambiguous as to whether or not Lester and Angela have sex: "whether Lester actually beds Angela or not-the film turns opaque at this point. It happens (or doesn't)" I don't know if Simon is talking about the same film here. The whole point of the movie is that they don't sleep together. It is one of the turning points of the film. The fact that Lester does not sleep with Angela is the point where he begins to appreciate his measly life. I also find it annoying that he comments sarcastically about the point in which both girls show their bare chests. He mentions this in a one-liner of how "groundbreaking" these scenes were (obviously being ironic). He fails to mention that both of these scenes are quite significant to the message of the film, unlike most nudity shown in Hollywood today. He puts down the music as attempting to be arty, but being irritating instead, which I highly disagree with. The music is exciting and fits the tone of the film. I appreciate that Simon gets right to the point and says he does not like the film, and makes no apologies but I think his main fault is assuming that the filmmaker meant the film to be "shocking" or at least for the shock factor to be the main point of the film.

American Beauty premiered in the US on September 8, 1999. It earned $861, 531 opening weekend. (Elley 37).

Awards
American Beauty was a film that won numerous awards. Both the actors and creators won Oscars. Kevin Spacey brought home Best Actor in a Leading Role. Sam Mendes was credited with Best Director and Conrad Hall won for Best Cinematography. It won the Best Picture and also Alan Ball won for Best Writing for Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks won for Best Picture. As for nominations, Annette Bening was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Thomas Newman was nominated for Original Score, and Tariq Anwar for Best Editing. Other awards for the film included The Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Annette Bening) for the American Comedy Awards. The American Society of Cinematographers award was won for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases. It brought in several awards from the British Academy Awards, and also won Costume Designers Guild Award, Golden Globes, Grammy Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and San Diego Film Critics Society Awards. (Nineteen 1-14).

First Choices
Sam Mendes' first choice for both roles was Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey, however, the role for Lester was offered first to Tom Hanks and Chevy Chase. Kirsten Dunst turned down the role of Angela Hayes. Terry Gilliam was asked to direct the film but refused the offer (Stein 37).

About the Director
This was British Sam Mendes' first film directing job and Alan Ball's first film screenplay. Because Sam Mendes worked formerly only with theatre productions, he was used to extensive rehearsals. He had the cast rehearse for two weeks. He also wanted to actors to really get into character, and as one of his methods, made them each audiocassette tapes of types of music he thought the characters would listen to (De la Vina 65-66).

Shaky Beginnings
The movie was considered a long shot because of its first time director and the daring storyline. DreamWorks SKG took a chance backing the film, and Stephen Spielberg was mesmerized by the script. Salaries for the movie were lower than usual, and it only took 15 million to make, which is lower than most Hollywood films (Stein 28). Before the film aired, the box-office prospects were grim (Eller 22-23).

Filming Locations
American Beauty was filmed in Canoga Park, CA (Mr. Smiley's), LA, Sacramento, and the South High School in Torrance, CA. The film was originally going to be shot in San Jose in Santa Clara County, but the police would not let them fly below 300 feet for the aerial shot, because of the noise level the helicopter produced.

Allusions
American Beauty has been compared to the story of the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita in which a middle-aged man, Humbert, becomes infatuated with a young teenaged girl. Lolita's last name is Haze and Angela's is Hayes. Also, Lester Burnham is an anagram for Humbert learns. The film has also been said to be a modern Death of a Salesman. In the movie, Carolyn mentions that the "Lomans" have just moved out from next door, the last name of the characters in Death of a Salesman (Eller 22).

Kevin Spacey
Spacey felt that in taking the role, he would be able to do more comedy than he has in any other role. Wes Bentley was so moved by the screenplay that he began crying when he first read it, insisting this was his role. Spacey had to get in major shape for the film. He worked out several times a day between takes with two personal trainers (Rechtshaffen 83).

Mistakes and Changes
In the trailer for the movie, Lester is shown to be driving his brand new sportscar and this actually never appears in the movie. Also, in the first trailer it shows Bening's line, "You think you're the only one who's frustrated?" and was changed in the second to add "sexually frustrated" (Alternate 2).

The hand that pulls the trigger killing Lester at the end of the movie is ungloved, but when reveals the killer, he is pulling off bloody gloves. When Carolyn yells at Lester for smoking pot she is wearing gardening gloves. They suddenly disappear (Goofs 4).

In the scene in which Col. Fitts punches Ricky in the film, blood is already on Ricky's face (Goofs 3).

Interesting Facts
Eighties pop-star, Paula Abdul, choreographed the cheerleading dance routine done by the Spartanettes in which Lester first spots Angela (Goofs 1).

There were child labor representatives present on the set when Thora Birch bares her chest. She was only 17, and permission had to be granted from her parents, who were also present (Goofs 1).

When Lester begins working at Smiley's, he is actually at a restaurant known in real life as Carl Jr.'s (Goofs 1)

In the pot-smoking scenes in the movie, honey tobacco is used. During the scene where Wes Bentley and Kevin Spacey's characters are smoking pot, the set thought they were actually high, because they could not stop laughing. They weren't. When Lester is smoking pot in his car, it is a stuntman (Goofs 1).

Mendes encouraged the cast to improvise. The tense scene at the dinner table where Lester throws his plate at the wall, smashing it, was improvised, and Annette Bening's gaping response is genuine. Mendes wanted the "masturbation scene" in which Carolyn catches Lester masturbating in bed to be extra spontaneous. They had to do the take over ten times because when Spacey would come up with terms for masturbating, Bening would burst out laughing to the point of tears (Stein 29).

In America
Two things that were going on in the country at the time the movie was made were the Clinton/Monica Lewinski affair, the Colummbine attack where a student opened fire and murdered several students. These may have had an influence on the movie. The older Bill Clinton having an intimate relationship is reflected with Lester and Angela. Also, perhaps the low self-esteem of both females in the movie, and Angela's blatant spite and cruelty can be reflected in our youth today, which are factors related to the Columbine incident.

Works Cited

"Alternate Versions of American Beauty." Internet Movie Data Base. http://imdb.com/ AlternateVersions?01690457.

"Business Data for American Beauty (1999)." Business Data. Re: 2 April 2002. http://us.imbd.com/Busniess?0169547.

De la Vina, Mark. "Theater Director's Beauty of a Film." San Jose Mercury News. Sept. 15, 1999: 64-66.

Elley, Dereck. Variety Movie Guide 2000. New York: The Berkeley Publishing Group, 2000: 37.

Eller, Claudia. "Industry Doors Open For Decidedly Un-Hollywood Movie." Los Angeles Times. Sept. 10, 1999:22.

"Goofs for American Beauty." Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/Goofs?0169547.

"Nineteen-ninety-nine Academy Awards." Infoplease.com. 2002 Learning Network. Re: April 2 2002.http://us.imbd.com/Tawards?0169547.

Rechtshaffen, Michael. "Who Ya Gonna Call? Flabbusters." National Post. April 17, 1999: 82-83.

Stein, Ruth. "From 'Caberet' to California Dark 'American Beauty' lures Sam Mendes to Hollywood." San Francisco Chronicle. Sept.12, 1999: 27.

For a critical analysis of this film, go to Critical Analysis of American Beauty

Faculty adviser: James Shokoff