Spectacular, as good as a drama gets

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2007)

This movie is probably my favorite movie of all time in terms of how enjoyable it is. It is as powerful as Reqiuem for a dream but instead of depressing, it takes a easy-going approach to life's serious matters. It is probably the funniest movie I know. Though it has a serious plot and both sad and tragic scenes, it is the movie I watch if I want a good laugh. It really gives you the feeling that you want to go out and live life afterward.
You follow Lester Burnham, Kevin Spacey, who is bored with his life and sort of has a middle life crisis which he during the movie is getting out of. To see how his attitude to life changes is actually the main plot of the movie.
However, it has several side plots. You follow the whole Burnham family and their neighbors, the Fits, and both families are totally screwed up. Jane Burnham is a confused teenager trying to find her identity, and she will get involved with her new neighbor, Ricky Fits, who is very much controlled by his military gay-hating dad.
You will see their relation develop throughout the whole movie. Also, Jane has a friend, Angela Hayes, who is a extremely shallow (and you can figure out she is insecure) 18-year old with the dream of becoming a model. She represents the fear of being ordinary and she is also important in the development in both Jane's and Lester's characters (she wakes Lester up and he falls in love with her).
You will also see Carolyn Burnham, Lester's wife, finding her way through her real estate business with the local real estate king Buddy. They both stand for the "career-focused and materialistic fake" American attitude. Lester Burnham is the total opposite, a slacker who does exactly what he feels like. You can easily figure out their marriage is not working.
So through his characters, Sam Mendes illustrates extreme moods in the American lifestyle - the slacker (Lester Burnham), the materialist (Carolyn Burnham & Buddy the King), the existentialistic loner (Ricky Fits), the confused teenagers with boob-job dreams (Jane Burnham & Angela Hayes) and the gay-hating marine corps officer Mr Fits (and his wife is just totally depressed).
However, the movie doesn't any standpoint which attitude it the best - instead, you should figure out what kind of person you are and what your goals are. Obviously materialistic fundamentalism isn't great but as long as you know who you are and what makes you happy you should take all opportunities to shape your own character. It's simple, yet, many people don't really get it, do they?
Aside from all this, the picture, the dialog and the acting are all just fabulous. Especially the Lester Burnham dialog and the Burnham parent's acting are spectacular. The first half of the movie I laugh the whole time, while the second half is more melancholic and deep. American Beauty is basically like watching what life is about. Me and my friend rented it so many times we broke the DVD (and I still haven't purchased it - how stupid is that?), probably twelve times, and the movie is as good every time.
Many people might not like this because of the explicit and awkward scenes (actually they are never really awkward, just very funny), but if you are a person who can't see a sex scene, maybe realism isn't your thing really.