A memorable film but not Oscar-worthy

Rating: 7/10 (30 April 2020)

While American Beauty has a novel and unique story, I'm not sure it is as edgy and profound as many people seem to think it is. The characters are basically all horrible and their behaviours are far too excessive to be believable.
The scenes with the brooding teenage boy and his escape into photography are all a bit teen-angst melodrama, which is fairly indicative of the movie's pretentiousness. It is still highly entertaining and often hilarious but the one-dimensional characters prevent it from being a masterpiece.