SPOILERS! You've been warned.
Rated 14a
Last seen: December 2004
American Beauty (1999)
Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch
Directed by: Sam Mendes
DIRECTORIAL GENUIS
CHARACTERS
Lester Burnham - At the beginning of the movie, he's a loser. Through a mid-life crisis he experiecnes, he becomes a potheaded body-building fast-food industry worker. Shoot in the head by Col. Frank Fitts.
Carolyn Burnham - Lester's bitch wife. She's a real estate agent. Has an affair with Buddy Kane.
Jane Burnham - Lester and Carolyn's daughter. She feels disconnected from her parents.
Ricky Fitts - Jane's boyfriend. He's Lester's dealer and likes making videos. Obsessed with beauty.
Angela Hayes - Jane's conceited best friend. She aspires to be a model. Almost sleeps with Lester.
Col. Frank Fitts - Ricky's insane father. Shoots Lester in the head.
Buddy Kane -"The Real Estate King". Has an affair with Carolyn.
PLOT
The story begins with Lester telling us that in less than one year, he will be dead. It progresses on to tell the story of Lester Burnham. He's a 42 year old who gets bossed around by his wife and daughter.
One night, at Jane's half-time routine, he sees her friend, Angela. Lester instantly falls in love with her and his mid-life crisis begins.
At a party that he attends with Carolyn, Lester meets Ricky and they smoke weed together. They discover that they are new next door neighbours. Lester decides to start buying weed from Ricky from now on. Ricky finds out about Jane and becomes obssessed with her.
Jane and Ricky fall in love. Ricky's father used to be in the marines, or some sort of army thing like that. He's insane. He doesn't know how to act around people and hates homosexuals. The reason for that is revealed later.
Meanwhile, Lester is becoming more and more of a different person than he used to be. He confronts his wife on why she won't sleep with him anymore. He quits his job and gets a job at a fast-food restaurant. He begins to work out when he overhears a conversation between Angela and Jane where Angela says:"You know, if you're Dad worked out a little, I bet he'd be hot."
Carolyn begins her affair with Buddy Kane. It's pretty hilarious (the spread eagle scene is something to watch for).
Frank starts to get suspicious of Ricky's activites and starts to spy on him. He discovers a tape of Ricky's that shows Lester working out naked. Ricky recorded it simply for amusement. Frank thinks that Ricky is gay.
Lester finds out about Carolyn's affair when they accidentaly go through his drive-thru for fast food, talking suggestively. Buddy decides to dump Carolyn, stating that she is facing a possibly expensive divorce and they should lay low for a while. Carolyn becomes enraged, and grabs a gun and drives home.
Back at home, Lester needs some weed. He calls Ricky. Suspicious of what Ricky is doing, Frank spies on him through the window. He mistakes Ricky rolling a joint for Lester as Ricky performing a sexual favour for Lester. He demands that Ricky leave his house. Ricky goes to Jane and they plot to run away. This makes Angela very upset.
Back in the garage where Lester is, Frank comes to visit him. After putting the moves on him, Lester kicks Frank out of his garage stating:"Hey, I think you got the wrong idea."
He goes inside where Angela tries to seduce him. He almost sleeps with her, but at the last minute, he remember how young and innocent she actually is and decides not to do it.
After discovering that Jane is now happy, Lester is finally happy. He looks at a picture of Janey, then places it down with a smile on his face, only to be shot in the back of the head by Col. Frank Fitts.
FAVORITE SCENE
Angela's dance where Lester sees rose petals coming from her chest.
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