Review of American Beauty (1999) by Brett G — 27 Jun 2015

*GREAT MOVIE*.

"It's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world.".

The definition of a dark comedy is a film that makes humor out of gloomy satire and serious situations. "American Beauty" is a dark comedy, yes, but it's not like any other one out there. A film like "Fargo" takes very serious subject matter that we are able to laugh at because of the behavior of the characters. "American Beauty" is different, there's a wall built between its comedic and dramatic elements, one the audience is easily aware of.

In "American Beauty", we laugh because we can relate, and because of the very strong sarcasm of the characters. Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening were definitely the perfect choices for their characters. They're an unhappy married couple with a teenaged daughter, and it's only when Lester (Spacey) sees his daughter's beautiful friend at a basketball game, that he feels young again, and motivated to change from his usual, boring self.

At times, it's an uneasy film to watch, but it's always wonderful, even when it's a little uncomfortable. It sounds like this makes no sense at all, but it does, and you'll understand what I'm talking about if you've seen the film. Scenes in which Lester and Carolyn are arguing, are supposed to be funny because of their sarcasm, however, it's still understood as a serious scene. We aren't making fun of them, and we're not laughing down at them, we're making humor out of a serious situation, but it's understandable and obvious, and it doesn't diminish the scenes from their seriousness.

There are moments like that, and there are moments that are meant to be relaxed and serious. I was always intrigued at how, without thinking, the audience knows when a scene should be funny and when a scene is serious. This is done because of the outstanding performances from the whole cast and the wonderful script.

The story in "American Beauty" is layered, and the title works perfectly. Lester is intrigued by the beauty of his daughter's (Thora Birch) friend Angela (Mena Suvari). He is motivated for the first time in many years, and his descriptions of these feelings, and some wonderfully shot dream sequences, are excellent. The "beauty" he is referring to is merely physical beauty. The tagline of the film is "look closer", which suggests that outer beauty is NOT what the film is referring to. Or is it? In a way, I believe it's about both.

Jane is unhappy with her looks, and doesn't feel happy in her own skin, especially with her friend Angela who is always talking about how many times she has had sex. When a new neighbor moves in, she is both slightly creeped out and slightly curious when he begins filming her. Another fantastic scene is when Angela is in Jane's room, and begins dancing in the window when Ricky (Wes Bently), the new neighbor, is filming. He looks right past Angela and directly at Jane. This scene is the first time there is a focus on inner beauty.

All of the characters in the film find their own definition of "American Beauty". It's a wonderful depiction of an exaggerated family life in America. It's one of the few films with such a brilliant line between drama and comedy. It works as both wonderfully.