American Beauty (film)

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American Beauty
Directed by	Sam Mendes
Produced by	Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks
Written by	Alan Ball
Starring	Kevin Spacey Annette Bening Thora Birch Wes Bentley Mena Suvari Chris Cooper Peter Gallagher Allison Janney
Music by	Thomas Newman
Cinematography	Conrad L. Hall
Editing by	Tariq Anwar
Distributed by	DreamWorks
Release date(s)	September 8, 1999 (première) September 15, 1999 (limited release) October 1, 1999 (wide release) February 4, 2000 (wide release) February 4, 2000 (wide release)
Running time	122 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000 (estimated)[1]
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

American Beauty is a 1999 comedy-drama film that explores themes of love, freedom, beauty, self-liberation, existentialism, the search for happiness, and family against the backdrop of modern American suburbia. The film was the screen debut for writer Alan Ball and director Sam Mendes and starred Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening; all four were nominated for Oscars. In 2000 it won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Themes 5 Soundtrack and score 6 Reception 7 Awards 7.1 Wins 7.2 Nominations 8 Trivia 9 In popular culture 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Plot

Lester Burnham (Spacey) is a 42-year-old advertising executive living in the suburbs whose family life has fallen into disrepair. His wife Carolyn (Benning) is an ambitious realtor with little on her mind but success, his daughter Jane (Birch) is a typically apathetic teenager who resents her father for his lack of support and contemplates getting breast implants because she finds herself less than perfect, and Lester himself is a self-described loser going through a mid-life crisis.

However, Lester finds motivation for transforming himself after meeting Angela Hayes (Suvari), Jane's best friend and classmate. Angela, a beautiful, confident, and supposedly promiscuous cheerleader who aspires to be a model, captivates Lester the moment he sees her perform a school dance routine, and he develops an obvious crush on her, much to Jane's embarrassment. Angela, however, finds Lester "sweet" and later comments to Jane that if he began exercising, she would "totally fuck him," which Lester overhears. He starts an intensive workout regimen and asks his gay neighbors for tips on how to look good naked.

Meanwhile, a family consisting of the extremely homophobic and austere Colonel Frank Fitts, USMC (Cooper), his catatonic and possibly depressed wife Barbara (Janney), and their introspective and curious son Ricky (Bentley) moves next door to the Burnhams. Jane begins to notice Ricky, who, unbeknownst to his father, earns money as a marijuana dealer, videotaping her through her bedroom window, which secretly flatters her.

In one eventful day, Carolyn begins an extramarital affair with a rival realtor and also decides to begin relieving her stress at a shooting range; Lester quits his job, blackmails his boss for an enormous severance package, and begins work anew at a fast food restaurant; and Jane and Ricky bond over camcorder footage of a plastic bag "dancing" in the wind, which Ricky considers the most beautiful thing he has ever recorded. During a heated argument over dinner, Lester finally asserts his independence from Carolyn's dominance of the household.

The next day Lester calmly confronts his wife about her affair after he catches them together at the drive thru window, leading to its end; Carolyn listens to a self-help tape that convinces her to "refuse to be a victim." She angrily drives home with her gun with the intent to confront her husband, believing him to have ruined her life. Lester then calls Ricky to the house for marijuana, raising the suspicions of Col. Fitts, who becomes convinced that his son is gay and subsequently forces him to leave the house, for which Ricky is happy to oblige. When Ricky and Jane plan to leave for New York City, Angela, who is visiting, accuses both of being "freaks," to which Ricky retorts that she is ugly, ordinary, and knows it. Angela bursts into sobs on the stairs, and Lester, after being confronted by a broken Col. Fitts — who, it is revealed, is actually gay himself — comforts her.

However, Lester's attempt to seduce Angela derails when she reveals that she is, in fact, a virgin. He cannot bring himself to take her virginity and instead makes her a sandwich in the kitchen. For the first time in a while, Lester realizes that he is truly happy. As Angela heads to the bathroom, Lester contemplates an old photo of his smiling family - unaware of Col. Fitts' gun levelled at the back of his head.

The movie ends with Lester's description of his life flashing before his eyes, interspersed with scenes of his family and others at the moment of the gunshot. He realises that he still loves his wife and it appears by her final scene were she is grieving him that she still loves him despite everything thats happened but its too late now. However, looking back on these events from his vantage point as narrator, Lester is only content, aware of the beauty in his world.

[edit] Cast

• 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 Colonel Frank Fitts
• Peter Gallagher as Buddy Kane
• Allison Janney as Barbara Fitts

[edit] Production

Alan Ball originally wrote American Beauty for the stage. He saw a paper bag floating in the wind near the World Trade Center plaza he was inspired by it to write the film.^[2] Director Sam Mendes eliminated the film's original opening and ending. The film originally began and ended with scenes depicting Ricky and Jane in jail, accused of Lester's murder, and also featured scenes of Lester-as-narrator flying down to visit his neighborhood. In the original version of the script, there was a separate story that included Colonel Fitts having a gay lover who died in Vietnam. It also included a scene in which Lester and Angela had sex.

The brief topless scene of Thora Birch was shot in the presence of her parents and child labor representatives, since she was barely seventeen at that time. Many of the school scenes were shot at South High School, in Torrance, CA, and most of the extras in the gym crowd were South High students. Sam Mendes designed the two girls' appearances to change over the course of the film, with Thora Birch gradually using less makeup and Mena Suvari gradually using more, to emphasize his view of their shifting perceptions of themselves.

The scene where Spacey is masturbating in bed had to be retaken a number of times. Spacey was instructed to come up with many metaphoric descriptions of masturbation (choking the bishop, saying "Hi!" to my monster etc.) that he just kept rambling on and cracking up Annette Bening.

Singer and dancer Paula Abdul choreographed the cheerleading scene.^[3] During the movie's second dinner scene, Spacey was only supposed to throw the plate of asparagus onto the floor. However, while shooting, Spacey decided to pitch it at the wall. Birch and Bening's surprise reactions are genuine. ^[4]

[edit] Themes

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The American Beauty species of rose is depicted throughout the film; Carolyn grows American Beauty roses in her garden and has vases of cut American Beauty roses in the home. Lester's fantasies about Angela are made distinct from reality by the presence of American Beauty rose petals on or about her body. The American Beauty is a flower that looks pretty, as we see in the film, but it is prone to rot underneath easily. Therefore the flower symbolizes a lot in the film; how things can look beautiful on the outside and be somewhat different on the inside. The American Beauty's purpose is just to look pretty, and nothing else. Perhaps this is a reference to Angela who has undefined beauty on the outside but is very bland on the inside. It may also be a reference to Carolyn who is trying to make everything look perfect on the outside when as viewers we can see that it's all quite ugly.

Repression of one's real desires and hiding one's insecurities are recurring motifs throughout the film. Lester claims to be dead inside long before his physical death. During his mid-life crisis, he finds that he enjoys expressing himself again after yielding to Carolyn's personality for so long. Carolyn yearns for success and the appearance of success, so she denies that there are marital problems. After Jane meets Ricky Fitts, her behavior and appearance changes. Frank Fitts is a staunch Marine Colonel who has been repressing his homosexuality for many years. As a result, after Lester declines his advances, Fitts kills Lester. Angela Hayes adopts a self-confident, haughty and promiscuous exterior to hide her own insecurities.

Beauty is another theme in the film. Angela says, "There is nothing worse than being ordinary." Angela thought she was "ordinary," whereas Lester sees her as anything but. Ricky says in his narrative that even an ordinary plastic bag blowing in the breeze has the ability to be beautiful - it only depends on how it is viewed. Hence all the characters of the film are in some way beautiful, even if they are unaware of it.

[edit] Soundtrack and score

Main article: American Beauty (soundtrack)

The score to American Beauty was composed by Thomas Newman. The soundtrack to the film also features songs by popular artists such as The Who, Free, eels, The Folk Implosion, Gomez, and Bob Dylan, as well as a cover version of The Beatles song "Because" performed by Elliott Smith (original Beatles recordings are very rare in motion pictures and very difficult to obtain the rights to). The film features "Don't let it bring you down" performed by Annie Lennox though this was not included in the soundtrack, which was released on October 5, 1999. This is a list of the tracklisting on the American Beauty soundtrack:

1. "Dead Already" by Thomas Newman – 3:18
2. "Because" by Elliott Smith – 2:20
3. "Free to Go" by The Folk Implosion – 3:31
4. "All Right Now" by Free – 5:29
5. "Use Me" by Bill Withers – 3:45
6. "Cancer for the Cure" by Eels – 4:44
7. "The Seeker" by The Who – 3:23
8. "Don't Rain on My Parade" by Bobby Darin – 2:53
9. "Open the Door" by Betty Carter – 3:11
10. "We Haven't Turned Around" by Gomez – 6:28
11. "Bali Ha'i" by Peggy Lee – 3:10
12. "Any Other Name" by Thomas Newman – 4:05

[edit] Reception

Three months in advance of the film's opening, when New York Times reviewer Bernard Weinraub described it as "the most talked about film of the moment." The column, which ran on the weekend of July 4, gave few specifics regarding the film itself, but noted that the film was generating "tremendous buzz" within the DreamWorks studio, as the details of how and when the movie would be released were being debated; it also reported that Steven Spielberg (a co-founder of DreamWorks) called the film one of the best he'd seen in years and that Bening was moved to tears at an early screening of the film.^[5][6]

The movie premiered on September 8, 1999, in Los Angeles, California, to reviews that generally reaffirmed the advance hype, uniformly praising the cast, script, and cinematography, as well as the first-time direction by Mendes. Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Edward Guthman called it "a dazzling tale of loneliness, desire and the hollowness of conformity." Jay Carr for the Boston Globe called the film "a millennial classic"; the New York Post called it "a flat-out masterpiece." Among the smaller number of critics who expressed negative opinions of the film were J. Hoberman of the Village Voice and Wesley Morris of the San Francisco Examiner, both of whom were critical of the film's script and direction, if not its performances.^[7]

On September 11, it was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice award just days before its opening. Aided tremendously by the positive press, the film took in $861,531 on its opening weekend in the United States, despite a limited release to only 16 screens. By October, the film was released to a wider audience, and quickly surpassed the film's estimated $15,000,000 production budget. Ultimately, the film would gross $356,296,601 internationally.^[1]

[edit] Awards

The movie dominated the 1999 Oscars, with a total of eight nominations. It also had another 82 wins and 63 nominations at numerous other award ceremonies.

[edit] Wins

• Academy Award for Best Picture (Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks)
• Academy Award for Best Actor (Kevin Spacey)
• Academy Award for Directing (Sam Mendes)
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Alan Ball)
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall)
• American Comedy Awards, USA: American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
• American Society of Cinematographers, USA: ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
• Australian Film Institute: Best Foreign Film Award
• BAFTA for Best Film (Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks)
• BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Kevin Spacey)
• BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Annette Bening)
• BAFTA Award for Best Editing (Tariq Anwar), (Christopher Greenbury)
• BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography (Conrad Hall)
• BAFTA Award for Best Music (Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music) (Thomas Newman)
• BMI Film & TV Awards: BMI Film Music Award
• Bodil Awards: Bodil for Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)
• Bogey Awards, Germany: Bogey Award
• British Society of Cinematographers: Best Cinematography Award

[edit] Nominations

• Academy Award for Best Actress (Annette Bening)
• Academy Award for Original Music Score (Thomas Newman)
• Academy Award for Film Editing (Tariq Anwar)
• American Cinema Editors, USA: Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic
• American Comedy Awards, USA: American Comedy Award for Funniest Motion Picture, Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
• Art Directors Guild: Excellence in Production Design Award for Feature Film
• Awards of the Japanese Academy: Award of the Japanese Academy for Best Foreign Film
• BAFTA Award for Best Direction (David Lean Award for Direction) (Sam Mendes)
• BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay - Original (Alan Ball)
• BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Wes Bentley)
• BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Thora Birch)
• BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Mena Suvari)
• BAFTA Award for Best Sound
• BAFTA Award for Best Production Design
• BAFTA Award for Best Make Up/Hair
• Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Drama, Favorite Supporting Actor- Drama, Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama, Favorite Actor - Drama, Favorite Actress - Newcomer (Internet Only)
• Brit Awards: Brit for Best Soundtrack
• Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: CFCA Award for Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Actress
• Cinema Audio Society, USA: C.A.S. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature Film

[edit] Trivia

• The bartender at the restaurant where Ricky works is played by producer Bruce Cohen.
• On the DVD, Sam Mendes says that he gave Steven Spielberg a private screening of the movie, which drove him to tears upon finishing it.
• The film’s tagline found on the DVD cover, "Look Closer," can be seen on a card or bumper sticker on Lester's desk in the beginning of the movie. The production designer had stuck it there at random, and it was picked up for use as the tagline, according to director Sam Mendes.
• While the hand that opens the door at the end of the movie - when Ricky and Jane first find Lester - is assumed to belong to the actor Wes Bentley, it is actually the hand of director Sam Mendes.
• The self-help tapes that Carolyn listens to are made by a certain "Dr. Alan Ball" - Alan Ball wrote the screenplay.
  • The content of the motivational tape Carolyn recites at the end of the film derives from Keith Raniere's Executive Success group (and suspected cult).^{[citation needed]}
• The hand and stomach on the film's poster, a reference to a scene featuring Mena Suvari, are actually those of actress/model Chloe Hunter.

[edit] In popular culture

• Rise Against's song "Last Chance Blueprint" from Revolutions Per Minute (2003) begins with a clip of dialogue from American Beauty:

Angela Hayes: Jane, he's a freak!

Jane Burnham: Then so am I! And we'll always be freaks and we'll never be like other people and you'll never be a freak because you're just too... perfect!

• The film was a major inspiration for the TV show Desperate Housewives.^{[citation needed]}

• The film is parodied in an episode (The Kiss Seen Around the World) of the popular animated television series Family Guy. In the episode, the character Peter Griffin is recording footage of his son riding his first tricycle when he is distracted by a floating plastic bag and muses on its beauty; God then shouts at him that "It's just some trash blowing in the wind! Do you have any idea how complex your circulatory system is?"
  • Another episode (Peter Griffin: Husband, Father...Brother?) parodies the cheerleading fantasy; a hungry Peter Griffin imagines fried chicken, rather than rose petals, flying from a cheerleader's shirt.

• An episode of MTV's comedy series Celebrity Deathmatch also parodies the cheerleading scene.

• There are many appearances of the floating bag and Ricky Fitts in the film Not Another Teen Movie.

• In the 2005 animated film Madagascar, the lion character Alex goes through a hallucination sequence in which various slabs of meat fly at him because he has not eaten for days. The sequence uses the exact same music that is used in American Beauty when Lester imagines rose petals flying from Angela's shirt. Madagascar is also a DreamWorks film.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Business data for American Beauty from IMDb
2. ^ Statement made during Alan Ball's Oscar acceptance speech
3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/trivia IMDB triva page for American Beauty
4. ^ A wikipedia editor speculates that this may be parody of the chilling moment when Marlon Brando threw crockery before two women in A Streetcar Named Desire.
5. ^ Sragow, Michael. "American BJ", Salon.com, 2000-03-30. Retrieved on 2006-07-16. (in English)
6. ^ Weinraub, Bernard. "At the Movies", The New York Times, 1999-07-02. Retrieved on 2006-07-05. (in English)
7. ^ Hoberman, J.. "Boomer Bust", The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2006-07-05. (in English)

[edit] External links

• American Beauty at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• American Beauty at Rotten Tomatoes
• Trailer
• Journal of Religion and Film: American Beauty and the Idea of Freedom
• skyjude - movie legends

Preceded by Saving Private Ryan	Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama 2000	Succeeded by Gladiator
Preceded by Shakespeare in Love	BAFTA Award for Best Film 2000	Succeeded by Gladiator