American Beauty

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2010)

I had heard nothing but good things about this movie, so I felt inclined to watch this film. It met and exceeded my expectations. Kevin Spacey makes probably his best performance, even with all the rest of his classic performances. The supporting cast did a bang-up job as well, although Spacey carried the film.
This film centers around Lester Burnham (Best Actor Kevin Spacey), who is a suburban father and husband. He and his family seem like your typical American family. Then, Lester starts to go through somewhat of a mid-life crisis. He decides that he is going to quit his job, start lifting weights, and start hitting on one of his daughter's teenage friends. After Lester finds out that his wife is cheating on him with another man, he kind of takes that as a last straw. He stops caring about almost every aspect of his life. Lester gains the friendship of a teenage boy that lives across the street named Ricky Fits. They somehow relate to each other, and Ricky starts to spend a lot of time at the Burnham household. Ricky's intolerant, ex-Marine father automatically assumes that Ricky and Lester are having a homosexual relationship. At the end, Ricky's father has had enough of Lester, so he goes over to his house and shoots him in the head. Lester's death ended the movie.
This film truly is a must-see. It was definitely worthy of the Best Picture Oscar for 1999. GO RENT THIS FILM OR SOMETHING!!! 10/10 STARS