Review of American Beauty (1999) by Eli T — 22 Apr 2013
American Beauty's strength comes not in its relatively boring teenage characters, but in Spacey and Bening's performances; their utterly convincing portrayal of an unhappy suburban marriage is punctuated by excellent black comedy, using acidity, cynicism, and sarcasm to startle the viewer from the first few minutes.
Lester Burnham's transformation is easily the most fun development of American Beauty, utilizing his great script to convey a total metamorphosis. Sadly, the rest of the movie is not so compelling.
Teenager Jane Burnham (an irritatingly wooden Thora Birch) and her torrid, halting love affair with Ricky Fitts, her next door neighbor, fail to interest. The film's theme of beauty is heavily explored in the parallel storylines, though, so we're never truly bored.
A strong effort from Sam Mendes.
This review of American Beauty (1999) was written by Eli T on 22 Apr 2013.
American Beauty has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
