by Chris Marshall:
When I first saw American
Beauty shortly after it came out, I thought it was really something
special. I thought it had something deep and profound to say about the world.
As I’ve grown older, though, I’ve come to decide that’s not the case. It’s just
a movie about a bunch of awful people doing a bunch of awful things.
Now, that’s not to say that the characters have no redeeming value. Lester Burnham
(Kevin Spacey), effectively the main character, has moments where he’s funny and
makes sense, but I think the movie’s overall message that it’s acceptable to
completely give up on caring about life is problematic. Of course, I admit I
could be misreading the point of the film.
Lester’s wife, played by Annette Bening, is made out to be
totally terrible, and she pretty much is. His daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is
the angsty, misunderstood teenager who finds in her new neighbor (the
gamekeeper from The Hunger Games)
somebody to accept her. He’s wise and world-weary, but he also sells drugs to
earn vast sums of money. And his dad is an evil, homophobic Marine who has Nazi
paraphernalia. It’s all quite dysfunctional.
Somewhere along the way, Lester meets and immediately falls
in love with Jane’s teenage best friend (Mena Suvari), much to Jane’s
consternation. His obsession with her causes him to start working out, and for
somewhat unrelated (or maybe completely related) reasons, he also quits his
job, starts smoking pot, and starts a new job as a cook at a fast food
restaurant. You see, he is looking for the least amount of responsibility
possible.
When I re-watched the film this morning, I became aware that
it is very similar in many ways to another 1999 movie, the much superior Office Space. Isn’t it basically the
same story, except with a tragic ending? In Office
Space, Peter hates his job and his life, and after a botched hypnotism
session, completely gives up on any attempt to put in any effort at work. In
both movies, their companies bring in a consultant who interviews employees
about their job duties as a way to figure out which cuts to make.
The consultants in Office
Space love Peter’s candor so much that he gets a promotion, despite doing
exactly zero work. In American Beauty,
Lester quits, but in doing so, he blackmails the company into giving him a year’s
pay with benefits when he leaves. The movies go in completely different
directions after that point, but these fundamental points are much the same.
 |
| Isn't this basically the meeting Lester had at the beginning? |
I did find it interesting that, even though I find so much
of the message to be unsavory, I still thought the movie was very fun to watch.
I know so much of it by heart, despite only having seen it a couple of times
previously. I do think a lot of that has to do with seeing the previews so many
times on the TV Guide Channel shortly after it came out, though.
One of the main questions I had while watching it this time
around was what happened to the young actresses in the movie. Mena Suvari was
huge at the time, having appeared in the American
Pie movies, and Thora Birch would go on to star in the critically acclaimed
Ghost World in 2001. But since then,
it seems like they’ve disappeared completely. Both of them have stayed
relatively active, but it’s been a long time since either appeared in anything
noteworthy.
Bening was recently nominated for an Oscar for her work in The Kids Are All Right, while Spacey has
been omnipresent, though in some generally lackluster movies. I guess he got his
Oscar and figured he’d just collect some paychecks for a while. It’s been 13
years since American Beauty came out,
though, so maybe it’s time for him to turn in another good performance for a
change.
Well, that does it for another decade. One final interlude
post—I figure I’ll just count 2010 and 2011 as part of the 2000s and not worry
about one then—and 12 more movies, and that’s it. Enjoy it while it lasts,
ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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