Movie #67: American Beauty

Movie #: 67
Movie Title: American Beauty
Year Released: 1999

Director: Sam Mendes
Notable Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper

Short Description: A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #53
Ranker.com: #57
Lifed.com: #65
Empire.com: #96
FilmCrave.com: #43
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 8/10/2016

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)

Rationale: This movie project has helped me uncover cinematic gems I hadn't noticed before, like Dustin Hoffman's excellent work. With American Beauty I was able to realize just how great Kevin Spacey is. Really, the entire cast is noteworthy and deserving of praise, but Spacey stands out among them and receiving the Best Actor Oscar is justification. I don't necessarily agree that American Beauty should have won the Best Picture Oscar as I thought The Green Mile was better that year, but it was a fine choice if The Green Mile wasn't going to win.