it's not Ang Lee's brilliantly understated Ice Storm

Rating: Null/10 (18 October 1999)

Not as smug and offensive as the repugnant Happiness nor as subtle or rich in character nuance as The Ice Storm, American Beauty lurks somewhere in-between.
To be fair, most of the cast do exceedingly fine work in this funny/sad portrait of quietly desparate lives in suburbia, and the script offers quite a few zinger one-liners, but I kept feeling as though there were something more to be tapped into. For all the film's indications to "look closer", there seems to be very little beneath the surface.
Kevin Spacey is quite good as Lester, going through a mid life crisis after he quits his job one fine day. Yep, he's pretty cool when he blackmails the company ("pass the asparagus"), and he's pretty funny when he says the highlight of his day is masturbating in the shower, but though he's always compelling to watch, there's something about his performance - something a bit mannered which makes it not quite "real". It's fine, intelligent work from a gifted craftsman, but I never felt an emotional resonance underneath - I never particularly cared about his plight.
As for Annette Benning, she's mannered to excess. Her role (and performance) are akin to nails running down a chalkboard. Those glaring eyes, that mouth set in a curt, silent shriek at all times. I will confess, however, that her funniest moment is also her most pathetic, when she fails to make a real estate sale and starts slapping herself in the face over and over again.
The kids are effective, and the neo-nazi ex-marine next door (Chris Cooper, from Lone Star) is not as awful as you might expect - they manage to downplay the nazi stuff, and this character gives the film it's one interesting twist.
* * for American Beauty