Not a black comedy - a true drama.

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 1999)

I saw this movie at a screening in Los Angeles on 9/8/99. The director and stars were available for half an hour after the movie for a Q&A session. One thing that I found interesting was that the movie's budget according to the director was only $15 million. (That, and the plastic bag scene was filmed by the director with his own home video camera in a parking lot somewhere in L.A. - by himself!)
Although this movie has a lot of humourous moments and scenes that are obviously designed to make the viewer laugh, it is first and foremost a drama. Artistically filmed (sometimes with characters looking directly at the viewer and narration giving plot points away) this film is very unique.

It truly takes the viewer into the lives of its characters. There is more character development in this movie than in most any other movie you have probably seen.
Annette Bening portrays her character perfectly. Her acting is, as usual, superb - but the character really isn't too meaty. Mena Suvari and Thora Birch play their roles perfectly, also. We truly grow and learn about life through Kevin Spacey's character's eyes.
The true surprise, for me anyway, was Wes Bentley. The audience is taught to see beauty through his character. If you thought you knew what beauty was - or how to live life - then you will learn again. Everybody, I hope, has felt what the character Ricky has felt (the pure joy of witnessing raw beauty) - but he describes it in words and shows you with expressions so that his wonder at true beauty is a visual representation of what you know to have felt inside you.
You will walk away from this movie touched inside. Let it teach you something about how to live life and how to appreciate true beauty.