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To start with I must say that Mena Suvari is a very beautiful young lady, and that I felt the same way that Kevin Spacey (A Bug's Life, The Negotiator) did about her in the movie American Beauty. Suvari plays Angela Hayes, a friend of Spacey's daughter played by Thora Birch. Mr. Spacey plays the soon to be out of work husband of Annette Bening, and Bening (The Siege) plays a not overly successful real estate agent. Anyway this is one screwed up suburban family with a new neighbor next door. The story 's character Lester Burnham is getting laid off at work, but he has dirt on an executive there, so he gets a nice severance package. This allows him to feed his me me me attitude he has going as he is entrenched in a mid-life crisis with no love (and worst yet no sex for several years). Meanwhile his daughter is friends with the sexy Miss Hayes and becoming friends with the video freak next door by the name of Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley). Fitts is the son of Colonel Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) a retired military man who is very homophobic, especially for his son (not to give anything away, but there is a reason for this). So after leaving his high paying job and getting hell from his status craving wife, Lester gets the car of his teenage dreams, a Thunderbird, and goes to work where he has a good chance of meeting and hooking up with Angela. That place of employment would be a fast food joint run by teenyboppers. While Lester does this, his wife gets crowned by the real estate king, and his daughter is falling for Ricky Fitts, even though he can't stop videotaping everything. As a side note, Fitts is also a big time pot dealer. Though a bit strange (or is it kinky), Miss Hayes is intrigued with her friend's dad. American Beauty is directed by Sam Mendes, runs about two hours, and is rated R with naughty language and themes. Unfortunately there is no nudity, especially so since I really wanted to see Suvari without the flower petals. This DreamWorks picture is "Beautifully" put together, it is funny, and keeps you interested in it , and is not predictable. Bening has a good performance as the cheating, bitchy, and materialistic wife & mother. her role as the uninterested and somewhat social outcast daughter. Spacey is fantastic as the dad of this family. Plus I just love looking at Suvari. Good story plus good acting plus good cinematography . For the About-Movies.com rating I give it ten couches, the highest score possible. That wraps up this. Bye bye. Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:45:34 AM |
