American Beauty is a 1999 American Comedy film directed by Sam Mendes in his feature film debut. The film was written by Alan Ball and stars Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, and Thora Birch as a dysfunctional suburban family. The film cost $15 million to produce, and filming took place in California, though the suburb was depicted as one that could be placed anywhere in America. American Beauty was positively received by critics and audiences alike, and it grossed over $350 million worldwide. The film won the 1999 Academy Award for Best Picture and was nominated for and won numerous other awards and honors, mainly for direction, writing, and acting.
This is a 1999 dark humor film starring Kevin Spacey, as Lester, he is in the middle of a mid life crisis, he can’t stand his wife and his daughter thinks he’s creepy, along with all of this there is an odd neighbor who spies on his daughter with a video camera, a teenager named Ricky with some social problems, and emotional abusive father, and a mother with poor mental health, Ricky eventually dates Jane, Lester’s daughter, and more is discovered about Ricky, how he isn’t that crazy considering his life. The film to me was a really good one, it is sort of a drama, but I like it, it’s not your average dull drama, there are things taking place left and right, and it doesn’t get boring, Kevin Spacey does a great job, and I think he plays the best character, the most interesting anyway, the movie to me is really realistic and not your average film, the darkness of this movie and the subject matter tackled makes it a bold film, there is just something about the atmosphere of the film that is special and makes it really unique, one of my favorite movies growing up, I think it’s really good, and I would recommend it if you haven’t seen it, it tackles awkwardness really well.