SO real

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2000)

I think this is the most realistic movie I have ever seen. This is about the perfect little house you pass by thinking "Oh, what a nice house, lucky people." First let me give you the Burnhams, the people in that "perfect" home. Lester is 42, is about to be fired from his advertisement job, and basically wants another life. Carolyn is on the brink of a nervous breakdown, is very frigid with Lester, neat freak, and doesn't let herself get emotional. Then there's Jane. She's 17, semi-popular, a Spartanette for her school, best friends with the school tease, and basically wants another life, like her dad. Then you have the neighbors the Fitts. There's ex-Colonel Fitts, who is a basic Nazi but realises he is a homosexual, the mother is having some mental situation and oftens drifts off. Then there's Ricky Fitts. Obsessed with filming things, especially Jane. "I'm not obsessing," he tells Jane, "I'm just curious." Lester falls in love with Jane's best friend Angela. Carolyn has frequent affairs with her competing realtor "The King". Colonel suspensions Ricky is having a homosexual relationship with Lester when really he is just hooking him up with weed.
The one part of this movie that made me smile was when Angela and Jane catch Ricky filming them. "Let's put on a show for him." Angela says. So she starts dancing seductively in front of the window. But he's not even glimpsing at her. He zooms in on Jane who is sitting behind Angela, as he zooms in closely on Jane looking into a mirror, she's smiling.

I was actually kind of disappointed that Wes Bentley who played Ricky wasn't nominated for Supporing Actor. I thought the "most beautiful thing I've ever filmed" scene would be a dead ringer for a nomination. Great acting, very original, but also depressing. I give American Beauty ****Â½ out of ***** only because Wes wasn't nominated.