A Character Analysis

Rating: Null/10 (30 August 2000)

This magnificent film should be interpreted for what it is, a character analysis. My interpretation reveals the use of character foils as the essence of this movie, as the raison d'etre, if you will. The most obvious foils are Lester and the Colonel, Carolyn and Mrs. Colonel, and Jane and Angela. Lester rebels against his surroundings, forging a new life, searching for his lost youth, using the accoutrements of his youth, be them cliched, of the young cheerleader, marijuana, and a job in a burger joint. The Colonel is the standard of discipline, unable to express his own inner desire, his repressed homosexuality, and when he does, he becomes so embarrassed that he acts violently against the man who rejected him. Carolyn, the success-driven, high powered wife, is terribly unhappy, and is forced to superficiality and facade to cope with her Type A behavior. Mrs. Fitts has no job, no passion, no energy. She is completely lost to the world, in a stunning contrast with Carolyn's penetrating energy and surging emotions. Jane and Angela provide an interestingn dichotomy: both are obviously without self-assurance or self-esteem, but they manifest it quite differently. Jane remains quiet and removed, seeking breast augmentation that she quite obviously does not need, while Angela becomes aggressive, fabricating stories and putting down her friend in order to build a false self-esteem. I would also put forth another interesting foil in the movie, that of the roses with the flying garbage sack. One is the traditional American beauty, while the other is a marvel of a boy's eyes, something unseen by most, but captured by him alone. How amazing to see a roomful of movie goes watching a garbage sack dance and become moved by it! The only person without a foil is Ricky, whose originality is meant to stand out as a Christ-like, messaianic figure, in an interesting anti-thetical fashion. He offers youth to Lester and love to Jane, saving both from their respected past lives. The complexity of this movie is too much to discuss in a thousand words, or else I should talk more extensively about the meaning of each character, and how the film maker succeeded in making each character special to some characters and awful to others. Angela for instance, is indeed ordinary in Ricky's eyes, but to Lester, she is the picture of perfection, this depsite the fact that Ricky and Lester have become great friends. Jane is ugly to Angela, but "interesting" to Ricky; Ricky an outcast at school, a bad son to his father, yet the savior to others; Lester a boring husband, bad father, and poor employee, yet, we, the audience, grow to love him. Even Carolyn finds someone to show her affection, despite her superficiality. Movies that can stand the test of time and be deemed "Great" by generation after generation make themselves such by their innate complexity. Such movies become better with each viewing, rather than growing stale and predictable. American Beauty, by its complexity (yes, some of the characters are a bit stereotypish, but round, not flat ones) will, by the end of my life time, will be remembered as the last great movie of the twentieth century.