A work of art.

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2013)

I watched this movie a around 5 years ago for the first time, and after I finished watching it, after struggling for around 2 hours, I reached the verdict that it had a boring plot, and the idea of a married man with a teenage daughter wanting to get it on with a girl his daughter's age was disgusting.
After recently re-watching American Beauty, I can't believe how wrong I was back then. I guess it's more of an age thing, this is one of those films that would grow on you with every viewing, the more you watch it the more you will appreciate it, this is not a simple movie, it requires a lot of thinking and touches on a lot of subjects. Subjects like homosexuality, midlife crisis, homophobic, smoking pot, disciple, work out, physical attraction, real state businessman & more. All these subjects are also shown in a more positive light. But most of all this film shows us how beautiful the world really is.
The plot follows different characters who are involved in all these social subjects. The movie is also very well acted as if the actors portraying the characters are the characters themselves. Kevin Spacey is absolutely brilliant as Lester, he perfectly portrays a man who is going though a midlife crisis, a boring life like he is a prisoner & getting bossed around by his wife & he could be described as sexually frustrated. After he sees Angela, Jane's friend his desires awaken, he becomes a changed man and does not take orders from his wife anymore and tries to become physically attractive. By the end of the film when he finds out Angela is a Virgin, he sees her as his own daughter. What a perfect transformation & change of character.
Mena Suvari portrays a teenage girl who wants to be extraordinary and the center of attention very well, and she is also beautiful on Screen. Thora Birch as Jane was fine in portraying the teenage girl who wanted freedom and also was being sort of a weird or mysterious character. At first you may find Ricky creepy but later you will feel sympathy for him and realize why he or his mother is this way and why Ricky records! Because he simply wants to capture the beauty of the world. He also wants the freedom to do what he wants without his father's interference which connects him to Jane. Chris Cooper naturally portrays the retired colonel who tries to flex his authority over his family through aggressive behavior towards them, perhaps a homophobic or a man afraid of his own sexuality.
Annette Benning as Carolyn is also fantastic she is quite possibly the best portrayal of a real state business woman in a movie, she cannot accept defeat, occupies superior position in her house, bosses her husband around and values materials more than enjoying life. Then her life takes a turn after Lester stops taking orders from her and she becomes very frustrated and she was also decisively losing to a competitor named Buddy, after this she started an illegitimate relationship with buddy, & she started enjoying life again till her husband discovered her affair and she broke up with Buddy and felt broken again. It was not until her Husband's death she realized that she actually loved him. Again great transformation and character development. The minor characters also put on a commendable performance.
All characters in this film are fantastic and well acted and the plot flows though really well because of it. The soundtrack is also fantastic and suits the feel of the movie. Some really memorable and funny scenes too, which you will feel like watching over and over again and enjoy. This film does try to tell its story but it doesn't remain serious it also tries to be funny. Thus it is a perfect blend of comedy, drama and social commentary.
My only gripe with this movie would be its pacing because even the film just slightly over 2 hours long, the film feels like its longer , it moves at a very slow & methodical pace to deliver its message. The viewer would also be left deeply interpreting what he saw. This affects the film's replay value. Additionally the actors who played Jane and Ricky remained expression throughout most of the film, maybe it is a part of their characters but it really makes their performance not stand out compared to the rest of the cast, plus their scenes dragged on, apart from the scene with the flying Bag & the scene in which where Ricky tells her his real story. Lester's fantasies about Angela were also overdone in my opinion.
But those are just minor issues of an otherwise absolutely brilliant film which is as close as a film can get to a work of art, this film absolutely worthy of the Oscar it received. The people who dislike this film or think it is overrated should actually try to re-watch it and see what they think of it now, because this is one of those films that you will appreciate and understand more, the more you watch it