American Beauty (1999) Movie Overview

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter’s best friend. Annette Bening stars as Lester’s materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper and Allison Janney also feature. The film has been described by academics as a satire of American middle class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has focused on the film’s explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation and redemption. Ball began writing American Beauty as a play in the early 1990s, partly inspired by the media circus around the Amy Fisher trial in 1992. He shelved the play after realizing the story would not work on the stage. After several years as a television screenwriter, Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the film industry. The modified script had a cynical outlook that was influenced by Ball’s frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce… Source

• American Beauty Movie Details
• Director: Sam Mendes
• Official Sites: DreamWorks
• Tagline: … look closer
• Country: USA
• Run Time: 122 min
• Genre: Drama

• Cast Overview
• Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham
• Annette Bening as Carolyn Burnham
• Thora Birch as Jane Burnham
• Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts
• Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes
• Chris Cooper as Col. Frank Fitts, USMC

American Beauty Movie Overview – Yahoo Movies

American Beauty (1999): Lester Burnhams wife Carolyn, whos cheating on him, hates him, his daughter Jane regards him with contempt, and his boss is positioning him for the ax — the typical suburban nightmare. When youve got nothing to lose, you might as well risk everything. Provoked by forbidden passions, Lester decides to make a few changes in h… Source

American Beauty Movie Review from New York Times

With heavenly finesse Kevin Spacey plays a buttoned-down 42-year-old suburbanite who flips his lid for a teenage cheerleader. And he never gets it back on. The midlife crisis motif is familiar, but the stage director Sam Mendes brings terrific visual flair and dry humor to this barbecuing of the bourgeoisie. All the actors display coolly expert tim… Source

American Beauty Movie Details from Imdb

Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter’s friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a sh… Source

American Beauty (1999) from YouTube