American Beauty

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2015)

American Beauty is about suburban families that have their own problems and are not a happy, loving family. They consider themselves "ordinary" and do not like that title. Kevin Spacey plays the father, Lester Bernham. It seems as if he is going through a mid-life crisis and has slipped into depression. Annette Bening plays the mother, Carolyn Bernham. She wants that "picture perfect" family and is not happy that they have difficulty portraying that in front of others. Thora Birch plays the daughter Jane that is going through her own problems. Her father is not involved with her and does not speak to her about anything. Lester, Carolyn and Jane each think that their lives are dull and boring and want to try to make them more fulfilling and exciting. They want to see if the grass is indeed greener on the other side. They continuously try changing their lives throughout the movie to fulfill their dreams and try to have some excitement in their lives. Lester was not happy at his current job, so he quit and started working in a fast food restaurant. He begins to start working out so he could get girls or women to notice him and boost his ego. Lester meets Ricky Fits, played by Wes Bently, when Jane begins dating him. Lester soon finds out that Ricky deals pot and starts buying it off of him and starts smoking it. Jane meets the new neighbor, Ricky and begins dating him. Jane and Ricky are both weird, but they understand each other and make each other happy. She is able to talk to Ricky about what her life is really like and is not ashamed of it. Carolyn begins having an affair with a guy that she believes has the perfect life. She has craved the "perfect life", so she thought this affair would make her happy. She likes guns, and begins to go to the shooting range and having fun. Kevin Spacey is one of the best actors and in this film you see a lot of his emotion come out in his character. You can feel the sadness and depression in his life. The lighting is natural and some of the scenes have distorted sounds and images, but that is the way Lester is seeing it. American Beauty probably hits home with several people, because this is something real and that could happen in their lives. If you're not happy in the life you have chosen, you should do something about it. Make yourself happy and reach for all of your goals.