The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts

Rating: Null/10 (13 March 2001)

Being someone who is rarely impressed by Hollywood's output, American Beauty came as a complete surprise. But looking over these comments, I'm seeing a lot of arrogant and elitist claims that anyone who liked American Beauty is simply shallow, naive and inexperienced. I, and I'm sure many others, find this extremely offensive.
As my title says, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." To pick apart American Beauty is to ruin the entire effect of it. Yes, the characters are stereotypes in premise; yes, we've seen this story's outline done before. What we haven't seen, however, is an explanation of how these stereotypes came to be, and that not all "good guys" are illogically selfless. Deny that "good" people are imperfect, and keep living in that fantasy world. Deny that you haven't known a Lester Burnham, and deny that the sun sets in the east.
The film's so-called gratuity in sex and other "offensive" themes is blown entirely out of proportion. Maybe I've become too desensitized to real life, but if someone finds something as natural as "masturbating" disturbing, then this film is mocking you, not beneath your high-and-mighty moral standards. It's not attempting to shock or be profound, it's just being honest. It's not saying that everyone is like the Burnhams, it's just saying that there are people like this out there, much as society would like to paint otherwise. American Beauty shakes the foundations of propaganda and plasticity, bringing these ideas crashing down to reality. It's not trying to tell people how to live, but to never lose sight of what life is about. Surely I can't be alone when I say that I deny reality when it all becomes too much to handle? American Beauty is a film that tells you that if you face up to problems rather than gloss them over with sugar-coated ignorance, life will be a hell of a lot easier.
All in all, I found American Beauty to be an absolutely stunning work of art filled with equal portions of hilarity, poignance, and downright beauty. A rare work of brilliance; an all-time classic. Not to be missed, and I mean that both literally and figuratively.