way overrated

Rating: 3/10 (8 March 2006)

I have seldom had as much trouble watching and liking a movie as I had with "American Beauty". Recently I bought the DVD due to the film's excellent reputation, then sat down with eager anticipation to watch. But about half way through, I turned it off. If the ending was brilliant, then I guess I made a mistake (and my apologies for reviewing a movie I did not watch all the way through)
OK, so is this a serious, arty film, or parody? I never did figure it out. Excellent music in the beginning helped lead me to believe it was more of an arty film, and through an early scene in the gymnasium, I was doing OK. But then things started to go steadily downhill.
First there is the disastrous relationship, which defies any logic, between Kevin Spacey's character and his wife. If you liked "Raging Bull" (I didn't), this relationship is for you. Because the two are at each other's throats from the very onset of the movie, one never actually gets a chance to find out what started it all. Sure they are politically mismatched, but we are also expected to believe they are sexually mismatched as well, something that was not so easy for me to understand. But at any rate, I guess we're expected to just swallow it all and believe..
Soon after, we are introduced to an odd assortment of characters, some conservative and some liberal. Its obvious who the director favors, and I have no problem with his bias as I am not as fond of cheerleaders and military men as I am of arty types either. But did we really need to get hit over the head with such crude stereotypes? Ever hear of subtlety? Now suddenly the arty film is beginning to look more like a National Lampoon parody. Not only is the cheerleader a LITTLE slutty, for example, but she is the MOST slutty cheerleader you have ever seen. I guess I'd just rather this be more implied than forced down my throat. And so it went with the other characters as well. Now I'm starting to lose interest in the movie....
...but then the moment came when I suddenly realized what this movie was REALLY about - an autobiographical tale about a young filmmaker, presumably the writer or director himself, at a young age. This becomes apparent when you see how much sensitivity and depth is given to the characters Ricky Fits and Judy Burnham as their relationship progresses. Yes, it was touching at times and well done.
But I guess its just not what I expected to see nor why I bought the DVD. The socio-political message of a suburban family gone berserk, of alienation, of "normal" and "crazy" getting reversed - this is not exactly a new theme. This has been the stuff of Hollywood in one form or another for decades, and its no wonder as it's there that all those "crazy, alienated" creative people eventually end up. Watch any M*A*S*H episode and you will see cheerleaders and military men trashed, suburban lifestyles (Frank Burns) mocked, and sensitive (or crazy) souls deified. This is profound and new? And so since none of this surprised me or caused me think deep thoughts, I was mainly left to wonder what else the film had to offer besides good music.
Maybe I just didn't wait long enough to find out, but then again I just couldn't handle all the screaming nor the "no holds barred" approach which often made it come across more like crass parody than important film-making. And as for the glowing reviews to be found elswhere at IMDb? - I think the authors are just as deluded that they are being profound as the director of this film was.