AMERICAN BEAUTY
1999, Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch
Before I was able to see the movie, I really didn't have much interest in it. Just the title sounded like something that was not my cup of tea. How wrong I was!
American Beauty is a strange movie indeed. It's the story of a middle-aged working stiff (Spacey), who has lost his interest in almost everything in life. I'm sure there are virtually millions of Americans who can relate to that. He has a bitch for a wife, a boring, unfulfilling job, a teenage daughter whom he hardly knows, and a non-existent sex life. Somehow, he manages to go through his life, day by day, watching himself get older and older, with no real aspirations for the future.
All of that changes when he goes with his wife to his daughter's cheerleading show during half-time at the school basketball game. During the routine, he focuses his attention on a classmate of his daughter - a beautiful, sexy, blonde teenager. Basically, every man's fantasy. Indeed, he is so taken aback by her beauty, he begins to envision her stripping in front of him, completely alone in the gymnasium. All of this is pure fantasy, as are all of his visions of her. After the game, he goes to pick up his daughter, who comes out of the school with, none other than his fantasy figure, who's name is Angela. He tries to talk to his daughter, but somehow just can't keep his eyes off of Angela - and it is certainly noticeable, not only to her, but to his daughter as well. However, Angela is the type of girl who takes pleasure in the fact that older men drool over her. Indeed, throughout the movie, Angela actually flirts with Spacey, giving him even more to fantasize about. It's exactly this spark which changes Spacey's life, and gives him the balls to take control of his life again, and provides interest for him where there used to be none. He learns to become bold toward his bitchy wife (Bening), and doesn't allow himself to be manipulated by her again. Additionally, he is able to find the fortitude to tell his boss to fuck off, and even going so far as to blackmail them for a year's salary after he gets laid off.
Added to the mix in this story is Spacey's new neighbor - a hard-nosed Marine who's overly homophobic, and his son, who shows extreme interest in Spacey's daughter by constantly videotaping her through the window.
After quite a bit of story, Angela and Spacey finally get together at the end of the movie, and are just about to have sex when Angela reveals to him that she's still a virgin, which ends any chance of Spacey wanting to have sex with her. However, it becomes immediately apparent to him that sex with Angela was not what he needed. He needed to be wanted again. He needed to feel important again, and he found that with Angela.
I will not reveal the ending of American Beauty. However, I will only say that I was somewhat disappointed with how the story ended. It just seemed too simple.
American Beauty won the Academy Awards for best picture, and rightfully so. It is a very entertaining movie, and gets better with each viewing, as you'll hear things that you didn't hear the first time around.
RATING: 9 out of 10.
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