BEST movie of the year

Rating: Null/10 (21 October 1999)

American Beauty, the American directoral debut by Sam Mendes, is a life preserver for those who feel they are drowning in a sea of sickeningly sweet, and or sophomoric teen movies.
No time to test the water, American Beauty plunges right in- Jane Burnham played by Thora Birch, in effect opens pandora's box as she discusses in a home video clip why she thinks her "loser" father needs to be "put out of his misery." This, as well as our knowledge that her father Lester Burnham, Kevin Spacey, will be dead within one year, comprise the skeleton to which the meat of the plot is bound.
This dark-comedy packs much more emotional punch (to make an understatement) than all of the She's-All-That-s or Never Been Kissed could ever hope todo. One aspect of the film that seems to set it a notch above the rest of the rabble attempting to accurately depict teen life, is that this one is not only about teens. Mendes manages to pull off a cinematic concept rarely attempted. He incorporates teens and adults equally into the movie, without entirely favoring one group or the other, and allows you to sympathize with the parents as well as the children in the film.
Lester, played by Kevin Spacey, is introduced as a depressed middle aged man stuck in a suburban hell. One day his nagging, real estate-selling wife, played by Annette Bening, coerces him into attending a high-school basketball game to show his support for Jane who is a cheerleader.
Unfortunately, his half-hearted attempt to connect with his daughter ends up driving them farther apart when he spots Jane's best friend Angela Hayes, Mena Suvari, the stereotypical cheerleader (i.e. tall, thin and blond) and promptly becomes infatuated with her.
Lester's obsession becomes the catalyst for a life-wide makeover. Although throwing off the shackles of suburbia and basically regressing to adolescence is good for Lester, Carolyn doesn't take it so well, and is driven into the arms (and bed) of her rival.
Mendes could have made the film an all out tear-jerker. Rather, he opts to leave all of his characters flawed, permitting the audience to take a more objective and detached view of their less than ordinary lives. By leaving each with a shred of dignity (only a shred mind you) Mendes has the capacity to fashion American Beauty into an emotional roller coaster- soaring up to the hilarious and laugh-out-loud, and plummeting to the heart wrenching, and frequently spiraling through the two simultaneously, all the while being conducted through the complex plot safely by Spacey's tremendous performance.
And the new neighbors arrive just in time for the party. Ricky Fitts, Wes Bentley, the strange son whom Jane first meets when she catches him filming her, seems practically normal in comparison to his violent, homophobic, ex-military father, Chris Cooper, and his essentially catatonic mother, Allison Janney. The Fitts provide the icing on the cake of the plot.
Despite the stellar cast, American Beauty, is not flawless. Carolyn's contrived caricature of the overworked, underappreciated career mother appeared particularly muted in comparison to her family, to all of whom could be applied the film's tagline, "look closer."
Teen flicks are fun, but they are all the more entertaining when viewed as part of a balanced diet, and in moderation. American Beauty is the perfect supplement, or perhaps even nicotine patch, to help high schoolers get off their sickeningly sweet teen flick sugar high. If you cannot decide whether you want to laugh or cry, American Beauty is the perfect movie for you.