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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

American Beauty
DreamWorks


7.2

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 120 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for strong sexuality, language, violence and drug content

Starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Peter Gallagher, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari

Provoked by forbidden passions, Lester Burnham (Spacey) decides to make a few changes in his rut of a life, changes that are less midlife crisis than adolescence reborn. The freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to his wife, Carolyn (Bening), and daughter Jane (Birch) --especially when he turns his lustful gaze toward Jane's friend, the sultry Angela (Suvari). (Dreamworks SKG)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Alan Ball
DIRECTED BY:	Sam Mendes
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 24, 2000 Video: May 9, 2000 Theatrical: September 15, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	121 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA
LANGUAGE(S):	English

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Spacey, an actor who embodies intelligence in his eyes and voice, is the right choice for Lester Burnham.

100

TNT RoughCut Christopher Brandon

A dark comical masterpiece that single-handedly announces the collapse of the American family infrastructure as it exists on the brink of Y2K.

100

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

It gracefully defies the usual categories, gets under your skin in ways you cannot anticipate, then works its way straight toward the heart. It's far and away the bravest and best movie of the year.

100

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A tart, funny and tremendously sobering movie about the deepest recesses of personal unhappiness.

100

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Spacey is diamond-brilliant in a role that plays as if custom-made for him.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

A wonder of a film -- a luminous, beautifully executed drama that gathers the best cast of the year -- the best American film of the year.

100

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A dynamite comedy-drama that, unless it stiffs big-time at the box office, should be up for multi-Oscar nominations come February.

100

USA Today Mike Clark

A singular accomplishment so specifically keyed to Spacey's talents that it mandates going out on a limb to say it contains the performance that will ultimately be regarded as "the one."

100

New York Post Rod Dreher

A flat-out masterpiece, surely the best movie of the year; indeed, an all-time classic.

100

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A triumph of acting, writing and directing that defies glib description...the kind of artful defiance that Hollywood is usually too timid to deliver: a jolting comedy that makes you laugh till it hurts.

100

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

A movie that will endure.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

If you don't share the film's piercing vision of what really matters, someday you will.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

A brilliant satirical diagnosis of what's most screwed up about life in this country, especially when it comes to sexual frustration and kiddie porn.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A blood-chilling dark comedy with unexpected moments of both fury and warmth, a strange, brooding and very accomplished film that sets us back on our heels from its opening frames.

Film.com Peter Brunette

Hilarious, slightly sick, and super-edgy ...the acting of its two principals, Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey, is so sublime that it's worth seeing on that grounds alone.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Hilarious, painful and brutally frank.

Variety Todd McCarthy

A script as fresh and distinctive as any produced in the States in recent memory.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

A brilliant, exhilarating piece of filmmaking. It may even be the best mainstream film of the year thus far.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

(Mendes') film debut shows he can shock not only with noise and nakedness but with subtle observations.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

I've got to admit it's a stunner.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Remarkably astute and devastatingly funny.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Though excellent in many ways, American Beauty is, finally, an uneasy mix of assured technique and simplistic satire.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

You know you're in the hands of a true filmmaker when you feel invited, at every turn, to share his sense of entrancement. I got that feeling in just about every frame of American Beauty.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Black comedy of the deepest, richest darkness laid over an aching meditation on the atrophy of dreams.

Time Richard Schickel

Kevin Spacey (gives) a truly great performance.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Surprises you with a kind of hardheaded romanticism.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

A ruthless dissection of suburban malaise.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Mendes nonetheless works this screenplay like a jazz virtuoso plays with a familiar theme such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Film.com Robert Horton

If it is never really as profound as it seems to think it is, American Beauty is consistently entertaining, and it earns points simply for acknowledging that all may not be perfect in the current boom years.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

A satire whose dead aim stops wounding - and starts making - stereotypes of white middle-classness.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

It remains a puzzling dream, vivid in detail and overly obvious in symbolism, fueled by half-digested lumps of malice and wonder.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Bland and nasty, American Beauty has the slightly stale feel of a family sitcom conceived under the spell of "Married . . . With Children."

Newsweek Ann-Rebecca Laschever

In the end, the film lacks the skill of its actors and ends up feeling disjointed and confused about its own message.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 120 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

chris l gave it a0:
A really awful overblown and pompous film with very poor directing extremely awkward dialogue, and terrible acting. Kevin Spacey in particular was really tight and bland in his role.

Barry P gave it a10:
I have never been so captivated by a film. I was totally mesmerized and I am lost for words. Incredible and it is instantly one of the best I have ever seen in my life. Words cannot properly describe how powerful this film is so if you haven't see it I suggest you do so. Wow.

Wes M. gave it a10:
Some of the most diverse, enjoyable character-driven drama out there!

Susan N. gave it a10:
A film I could watch over and over and never get tired of. A film to see before you die.

Thomas R. gave it a10:
One of the best movies I've ever seen. Maybe it isn't everything the critics want in a movie, but it was everything I wanted.

Grace B. gave it a9:
This movie is going down as one of my all time faves. It's one of those stories that stick with you, that you don't forget about the second the movie's over. It's alot like Garden State with great detail in each and every character, and I'm sure that everyone can find a little of themselves in each one. Captivating film.

Hannah F. gave it a10:
I am merely a young girl and am certainly not allowed to watch a movie like this one, but I fatefully came upon it, and was stunned. Never before had I seen a movie this thought-provoking or plainly beautiful. It is a daring movie you never see, with its witty and realistic look at the "American Dream". Hearing a teenage boy speak of the world and all its splendor, I found myself crying and really pondering everything ever to happen in my life. A truly wonderful movie!

American Beauty DreamWorks

American Beauty
DreamWorks