The bloom is off this rose

Rating: 1/10 (7 February 2000)

American Beauty has some good points--particularly the performances of Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, doing the best they can with what they've been given; the music is interesting, too--but it's all in the service of a superficial, predictable and cliched script. Ultimately, the film is nothing more than an exercise in pretentiousness and a celebration of amorality.