All around great.

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2017)

If you have a family that you live with, briefly think about your home life. Now see if it doesn't to some extent resemble the pathetic family life of the Burnham's or their neighbors. I know mine does. When someone asks you how your day was, how often do you give them a straight answer? Yeah, everything's fine. You've got a steady job, a few dollars in the bank, you're not hungry, and the parents don't beat the kids, and your life's just frickin' lovely. Except that it's not. Because you hate your job or you feel insecure at school, and whenever your mom or dad or kid makes an attempt to "take an active interest" in you, it results in nothing more than a facade of fake smiles.
This is what I loved about this movie: the fabulous portrayal of how sad the characters' lives are. The first act in particular is great, showing all of the characters' issues and insecurities. It's funny, but it's also terrible. Seeing Lester fantasizing about Angela as his wife sits right next to him and seeing Carolyn invest so much energy into selling the house at the beginning was so powerful in showing how empty their lives have become. So when the Burnham's started taking some action in the second act, I felt happy for them. It gives them some measure of power over the things that make their lives miserable.
Aside from being an excellent commentary, it was fun to watch. Much like Fight Club, which ironically came out just two weeks after American Beauty, it takes normal people in relatively normal settings and gives them snappy but believable dialogue. I was never bored while watching it either, which shows that it has good pace. Not all of the acting is spectacular, but all of it is good and all of the characters feel realistic and alive. Most of all, though, it evoked an emotional response. There were many times when the scene at hand made me cringe. This may not sound appealing, but it is actually one of the main reasons I would recommend watching it.
To be honest, I can't think of a good reason for anyone over the age of 16 to not watch this movie. If you don't like it, that's one thing. But if you haven't seen it, I strongly urge you to make it a priority because it will put your life into a different perspective. Not only that, it is entertaining to watch in a rather unique way. Overall Rating: 8.5/10.