American Beauty Plot and Theme Review

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2011)

Lester Burnham (Spacey) is a miserable 42 year old ad executive. He is also a old father, husband and the film's narrator. He and his wife Carolyn (Benning) are holding on to a terrible relationship. Lester's 16 year old daughter Jane (Birch) is finding it hard to fit in has zero self-esteem and is generally unhappy. Lester is a very mundane, apathetic, and describes himself as boring. However, he finds a new spark when he meets his daughter's friend Angela Hayes (Suvari). Lester begins to fantasize about Angela in very graphic situations. The Burnham's find themselves to have new neighbors, the Fits. Colonel Frank Fits (Cooper) his wife Barbara (Jamey) and their camcorder addicted son, Ricky (Bentley). It is quickly made apparent that Col Fits is a bigot.
The movie begins and ends over the course of just a few short days and follows each Burnham in a separate but ultimately related story line. Carolyn begins an affair with an associate in real estate. Lester blackmails his boss, takes a payoff and quits his job for the leisure of a burger flipping position. He also sells his economy car for his dream car. Lester is in a full-fledged midlife crisis. He also begins to work on his physical fitness to impress Angela. He also begins to purchase weed from Ricky after Jane begins to form a relationship with him.
Through a complicated series of events, Col Fits mistakes Lester and Ricky's weed liaison as a romance. Meanwhile, Carolyn and Buddy are caught by Lester who is completely indifferent. Carolyn is hurt more by her husband's lack of interest than she is about getting caught and the affair is ended. Ricky is confronted by his Dad about his relationship with Lester. Wanting to anger his father, Ricky admits to the "affair" runs to Jane and asks her to leave town. Angela is there and becomes upset because she wanted to steal Ricky from Jane.
Lester is kissed by an upset Col Fits. Lester rejects him and Colonel Fits fades into the rain. Carolyn, still distraught, sits in the car with a gun the man she had an affair with convinced her to get. Lester stumbles upon an upset Angela and is about to engage her sexually when he realizes she is a virgin. This seemingly snaps Lester out of the funk hes been in the entire film, and he assumes a father figure role toward Angela. She excuses herself to the restroom. Lester looks at a family photo and finds happiness again thinking about all of the families great memories completely oblivious that there is a gun to the back of his head. A gunshot rings out and the cameras pan between all the characters reactions, including a bloody Colonel sitting in front of his gun collection with one missing.
The main theme in this movie is that things are not always as they appear. You don't always realize what you have until you are about to lose it. Perspective is reality. The Theme is highlighted in the final narration of the film, as Lester realizes that he actually lived a good life and had all of the things that were truly important: "I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all; it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees that lined our street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie, And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty upset about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday."