Good movie, worth watching

Rating: Null/10 (28 October 2011)

American beauty is a movie about an ordinary suburban family, that are not happy they are ordinary. The father Lester Bernham played by Kevin Spacey is very depressed about his live and is going through a mid-life crisis. His wife Carolyn played by Annette Bening is upset that her family is not perfect and she wants to project that they are. Lester's daughter Jane Played by Thora Birch is upset that her father is not involved in her life and he has not talked to her in a long time about anything. The theme of the movie is a distorted view of the grass being greener on the other side. They each want something different in their lives and want things to suddenly change. They think life should be more exciting and fulfilling. Throughout the movie they change their life styles dramatically to try to create excitement. The father quits the job he hates and does what he did in a time in his life when he was happy, which was working at a fast food burger joint. He starts smoking pot and working out to get girls like he use to when he was in high school. The mother starts having an affair with the person she thinks is living the perfect life she wants. She starts a new hobby of shooting guns as well. The daughter starts dating the new neighbor kid, Ricky Fits played by Wes Bently which is a bit weird and she believes he understands her world. They boy is also the fathers drug dealer, but it is kept secret from the rest of the family. The acting done by Kevin Spacey is very good. He shows lots of emotion from his character. You really feel the sadness in his life. The director takes long close up shots to show that emotion coming from Kevin. The lighting is very natural and some scenes go all weird with sound and distorted images, but that is just the effect they use to show the Kevin Spacey"s character is fantasizing. This movie touches home probably with a lot of people because the theme is universal. While watching the movie I could not help but compare my life to Lester's. I did what he had done and quit my job to return to school and try to get a job doing something I like doing. I think it is important to do something you like doing and to never give up trying to reach that goal.