Not the Best Movie

Rating: 6/10 (12 April 2006)

An interesting and sometimes not great story of a man's rise back to life that turns the lives of those closest to him upside down.
Lester Burnham is clinically depressed and has lost all faith in life. His wife, Carol, is a real estate agent who brings home the most bacon in the family and is rivals with another real estate king named Buddy Kane. His daughter, Janie, is 16 and thinks of her dad as an embarrassing dork. Lester also hates his job and wishes to be closer to his daughter, but the effort is minimal.
One night, Carol and Lester go to Janie's school to watch her cheer-leading on the basketball team. It is there that Lester becomes hypnotized and entranced by cheerleader Angela Hayes, Janie's 17 year old friend who brags about the men she's slept with. Lester continually has fantasies about Angela, not so much of an affair but just fantasies.
Wanting to impress Angela more. Lester quits his job, begins working out to gain muscle, and takes a job at a fast food joint, flipping burgers, in an effort to not only impress Angela but to change his life. He also begins smoking weed, which he gets from his 18 year old neighbor, Ricky Fits. Ricky sells weed and uses fake urine from a nurse to give to his colonel dad in order to pass his dad's twice a year drug test and his mom is like a zombie around the house. Ricky also takes a liking to Janie and he also films things that are dead and gross but considers them beautiful.
Lester's new outlook on life makes him happy but makes his wife angry and she begins to have an affair with Buddy Kane and when Lester finds out he's not at all upset because he can only think of Angela. Janie sees this and thinks her dad is a pervert causing more friction between the two.
As the conclusion draws near, more hearts are broken, romance fizzles and sizzles, confrontations are addressed, revelations are found out, and a life is taken.
American Beauty wasn't great. It seemed to have to much swearing and sex references than good filming. It did have some funny and interesting points. For many this was great for them. For me it wasn't. It wasn't all entirely bad just not great. Kevin Spacey does give a great performance, Sam Mendes does great directing, and the story is filled with odd yet complex characters.