Sigh where have all the great movies gone?

Rating: 4/10 (21 September 2000)

That this movie won the Oscar for Best Picture reflects more on the sorry state of Hollywood today than it does the quality of this movie. Don't get me wrong, American Beauty is a perfectly enjoyable movie that occasionally rises above its sitcomy situation, but it is by no means a great movie - or even a really good one for that matter. It's a little pretentious and feels more like a rebellion of classic tv than it does a real movie. Still, the performances are decent and pace is enjoyable. Kevin Spacey, while good, clearly did not deserve to win Best Actor. The reason? The way the chraracter was written, it could have been played by anyone. Spacey does not have to stretch much for the role nor does he offer a real, layered performance. He gets the character in broad strokes and flourishes but lacks true depth in his characterization. It is unfortunate that American Beauty never develops its only truly interesting character - played by the sublime Thora Birch. Instead, it offers an enjoyable, if somewhat stale and pretentious tale of family life in suburban America.