I was such a fool

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2003)

I almost pity myself. How I wasn't able to comprehend this movie a couple of years ago is totally beyond me. I hated it, despised it actually and right now, after giving it a second view I understand why a couple of people actually bothered and sent me practically threatening letters. Now I know why; how can you not love this movie. A raw satire that doesn't show life from a perspective, it just shows it, period! It shows us that life is very beautiful, you just have to do something with it and not let others run it for you. And that's exactly what Lester Burnham does. Wow, at least I didn't overlook Mr. Spacey's performance the first time around. His performance deserved all the positive attention it got and I know exactly what won over the Oscar people. It was the smile when Jane Burnham(Mena Suvari) tells him his daughter (Thora Birch) is really happy because she's in love. Perhaps the most endearing, most authentic(if you put yourselves into his shoes) and most wonderfully sincere smile I have ever seen. For real. What an immature person I must have been less that two years ago to find this movie both boring and sad. It is one of the highlights of the previous decade and to those who found my first comment, shall I say, offensive- I truly apologize and hope that I've learned to become a more experienced movie fan to not let pieces of sheer beauty like this slip by me. A wonderful cast that truly shines in the last half hour makes "American Beauty" amazing. Adding great cinematography, music and direction makes it a masterpiece. 9/10