American Beauty - 8 stars out of 10

American Beauty - 8 stars out of 10

"American Beauty" is one of a kind.  Is it drama?  Comedy?  Creepy?  Sentimental?  All that I know is that it is good.  This dark portrayal of the average American family explores the midlife crisis of a man who fights to take control of his life.  The thing that makes "American Beauty" so special is the extremity of its characters.  There is no such thing as subtle as Sam Mendes coaxes strong emotions and reactions from his actors.  Kevin Spacey earned his Oscar as Lester Burnham, tapping into an apathy that explodes into catastrophe.  He is an incredibly underrated actor and I'm glad that this (along with his Oscar for "The Usual Suspects") can serve as a remind that he is a master at manipulating the screen.  Annette Bening steps out of her typical roles to become this amazing control freak and Wes Bentley is someone that we can all root for (a little weird but a nice guy).  Mena Suvari is the perfect choice for Lester's obsession, glamorous enough to catch our eyes but typical enough to make the character realistic in the end.  The Oscar-winning script creates several iconic moments, like the beauty of the plastic bag blowing around in the wind (ever wonder where the opening lyrics to Katy Perry's "Firework" come from?) and of course the bathtub filled with roses.  Some of the content is uncomfortable to watch at points, but this content is what resonates to make the film so memorable.  This film goes beyond normal and enters the realm of things that people don't like to talk about out loud.  The story also creates a perfect mysterious setup to keep us wondering who will eventually kill Lester (that is not a spoiler, we know from the onset of the film that Lester will die).  It took me weeks to write this review and I still can't put this film into words - you just have to see it, but not until you are mature enough to handle and understand the strong content.