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About this movie

Genres:
Drama
Language:
English
Running time:
2:01:40
Partner rating:
R
Released:
Quality:
480 (DVD equivalent)

Cast & Crew

Cast

  1. Kevin Spacey [Lester Burnham]
  2. Annette Bening [Caroline Burnham]
  3. Thora Birch [Jane Burnham]
  4. Chris Cooper [Colonel Fitts]
  5. Wes Bentley [Ricky Fitts]
  6. Mena Suvari [Angela Hayes]
  7. Peter Gallagher [Buddy Kane]
  8. Allison Janney [Barbara Fitts]
  9. Scott Bakula [Jim Olmeyer]Sam Robards [Jim Berkley]
  10. Kevin Spacey Lester Burnham
  11. Annette Bening Caroline Burnham
  12. Thora Birch Jane Burnham
  13. Wes Bentley Ricky Fitts
  14. Mena Suvari Angela Hayes
  15. Chris Cooper Colonel Fitts
  16. Peter Gallagher Buddy Kane
  17. Allison Janney Barbara Fitts
  18. Scott Bakula Jim Olmeyer
  19. Sam Robards Jim Berkley

Directors

  1. Sam Mendes

Producers

  1. Bruce Cohen
  2. Dan Jinks
  3. Stan Wlodkowski
  4. Alan Ball

Writers

  1. Alan Ball

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American Beauty

ThumbnailPlay video in overlay3:00

Trailer for American Beauty

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 convinc... 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.

Trailer for American Beauty

Reviews by Rotten Tomatoes

Scored 'fresh' by Rotten Tomatoes

88%Tomatometer score: 88% positive reviews from professional critics.

percent positive reviews

  1. Positive review
    Andrew Sarris, New York Observer As the latest mainstream movie symptom of our premillennial malaise, American Beauty is so brilliantly acted, written, directed and visualized that for all its despondency and despair, it is a lot... – Full review External link
  2. Positive review
    Geoff Andrew, Time Out Director Mendes guides an artful path between desire and self-disgust, playing youth against experience, male against female. – Full review External link
  3. Positive review
    Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle A great, tremendously entertaining experience. I only wish there were more films this satisfying. – Full review External link
  4. Positive review
    Rick Groen, Globe and Mail This is definitely a knife-to-the-heart movie -- the kind whose potent effect is easy to feel yet hard to describe. – Full review External link
  5. Positive review
    Peter Travers, Rolling Stone The kind of artful defiance that Hollywood is usually too timid to deliver: a jolting comedy that makes you laugh till it hurts.

Read more reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

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