Provocative, unique and well-crafted....but not exactly pleasant viewing.

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2011)

"American Beauty" earned five Oscars--including the biggie for Best Picture. However, I can't help but think that it just couldn't live up this hype when I watched it. Perhaps the competition just wasn't that great, but I can think of a lot of films that should have won this many awards but didn't. Perhaps you don't agree...and hey, that's life.
The film is about a group of people who 100% screwed up and disaffected in their suburban lives. I am sure that is THE theme--how bankrupt life can be behind the stale walls of suburbia. The father (Kevin Spacey) is having a HUGE mid-life crisis. That's not too abnormal, but his reaction sure is--as he quits his job, buys a muscle car, smokes pot, insults his vacuous wife and begins having sexual urges about one of his daughter's underage friends. The wife (Annette Benning) is a frigid lady whose only interest is money and prestige...until she decides to have an affair. The daughter (Thora Birch) appears to be a disaffected teen--which is normal enough until she falls for a creepy guy and begs him to kill her father! Add to this all their 100% screwed up friends--stalkers, murderers, homophobes and nymphettes. None of them are the least bit likable and for me this was THE big problem I had with the film. You cannot connect with the characters because they are so one-dimensional--like caricatures of what's wrong with the American family.
Now, this being said, the film sure is original. And, the acting and direction were all very good. And, it certainly is a provocative film--and it will make you think. And, considering how many hollow and vacuous films there are coming out of Hollywood these days, it does make me appreciate the freshness of the film's plot...even if it's so darn unpleasant and a bit depraved--and a lot like watching a slow-motion train wreck.
By the way, most taboos are broken in this film, so it's not one to show kids or mother-in-laws. Pedophilia is just one of the many icky topics covered in this unique film.