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ragingfluff 
"Currently lost in Canada"
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 Posted - 03/01/2007 : 17:43:18
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I only saw it the once... I remember liking it at the time, but I am a big fan of Kevin Spacey. I think if I was to watch it now I would hate it, as my memory of it is of a film extremely satisfied with itself and its smug dismissal of the vacuosness of suburbia. There's nothing original here; we all know suburban life is dull and meaningless. Suburban ennui has been much better dealt with in movies like The Swimmer and The Ice Storm. It's very much an actor's film, and the performances are great (much was made of this at the time because Sam Mendes comes from the theatre). It has some great visuals, but I'll credit those to the cinematographer, and some great one-liners ("F**k me, your majesty!"), but it should never have got the attention it deserved.
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rabid kazook 
"Pushing the antelope"
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 08:23:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Paddy C
quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
Punch-Drunk Love? 
I liked that one, thought it was great! 
I totally think that is the one of the bestest movies too. And here am I now greatly anticipating There Will Be Blood. Only half of the year to go. 
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Please Kill Me Now 
"Need my dopamine fix!"
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Posted - 04/08/2007 : 10:53:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
Like most moviegoers and critics, I was wowed by American Beauty when it came out in 1999 and was happy to see it win Best Picture the next year, since it wasn't the usual preachy snoozefest the Academy usually favors. I revisited the film a couple of years later on DVD and began noticing its weaknesses, and when I saw it on TCM last night, practically all I could see were its weaknesses. What impressed me so much back then seemed false and contrived now. ... Upon my third viewing, I found American Beauty trite, smug, and maddeningly condescending.
I thought it was a preachy snoozefest upon first viewing (and I have had no desire to see it again). In fact, I hated every second of American Beauty about as much as I loathed Eyes Wide Shut that same year.
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TitanPa 
"Here four more"
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 07:20:45
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| Loved the movie. Dont know why your nit picking the movie. Every movie can be nit picked. Sure a movie seems weak now. It was made years agao. Much better movies have been made after. Just take the movie for what year it was made. Thats why I love 80's movies. It was such an innocent time. As the years go by movies get grittier. |
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Tori
"I don't get it...."
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 16:22:36
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| I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago on TV and hated it. I found it difficult to like any of the adults and just felt sorry for all the kids. |
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Tori
"I don't get it...."
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 16:24:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Paddy C
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
When we were talking about the best movie years recently I agreed that 1999 was my favorite movie year - so many incredible films that were outside the standard fare (Matrix, Fight Club, 6th Sense, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, and others) But American Beauty is still for me the best picture of that year.
Funny, the other nominations for best picture that year were Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider and The Sixth Sense... I haven't seen Cider House Rules, but I'd say the winner was fair based on those five.. I did like 'The Insider' a lot as well though.
Kevin Spacey managed to beat off (ahem  ) Denzel for 'The Hurricane' and Russell Crowe for 'The Insider'...
I think any of these would have been a better winner...I really enjoyed them all, except for American Beauty. Insider remains one of my faves but my husband can't stand it. Go figure. |
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Tori
"I don't get it...."
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 16:27:45
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quote:
Not neccesarily true, a man can love his wife and children and go and have a meaningless sexual encounter which means absolutely nothing to him but everything to his wife whose emotions are tied to her sexuality where his emotions are hardly on speaking terms with his sexuality.
A man who truly loves his wife will not have an encounter like that and think it's okay. If he doesn't feel bad or thinks he is justified then he didn't love his wife. If he feels like a jerk afterwards and never does it again, that means he loves his wife. Though ideally if he loves his wife it will never happen in the first place.
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MisterBadIdea
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 16:40:37
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I cringed when Kevin Spacey got his "redemption" at the end of this stupid movie. He hadn't done a damn thing to deserve it. Congratulations, you didn't deflower an innocent teen. Get the man a medal and a federal holiday.
I think it's pretty damn odd that the movie condemns shallowness, but the hero is incredibly shallow himself. I cringed again when Spacey crowed about his new car then started berating Annette Bening for caring too much about the furniture.
And let's not forget the Three's Company subplot about the dad thinking his kid is gay. Ugh. I cringed.
I'm not going to say that the pretensions of this movie bothered me -- the roses and the plastic bag worked wonderfully. But this movie doesn't really bear scrutiny very well. |
Edited by - MisterBadIdea on 04/09/2007 16:44:19 |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 17:54:22
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The film, despite some good stuff, is certainly flawed and probably will date.
But.
Why do so many Americans think irony has something to do with shirts.
Sigh.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 04/09/2007 17:54:41 |
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MisterBadIdea
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 19:43:37
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
The film, despite some good stuff, is certainly flawed and probably will date.
But.
Why do so many Americans think irony has something to do with shirts.
Sigh.
This is in reference to what? |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 20:23:38
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quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
The film, despite some good stuff, is certainly flawed and probably will date.
But.
Why do so many Americans think irony has something to do with shirts.
Sigh.
This is in reference to what?
I believe most of the crits above gloss over or don't acknowledge that the film's incidents are quite deliberate.
The writer, for example, was Exec Prod and wrote many eps of the sublime Six Feet Under - which can be seen as a companion piece to AB. The director is a highly experienced and successful British stage director of some delicately balanced productions by such masters of irony as Checkhov and David Hare as well as - among others - Cabaret and Little Voice, two plays which make telling political points embodied in their main characters.
The so-called anomalies mentioned above I believe to be the very focus of the screenplay.
But, hey, we don't all have to agree 
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MisterBadIdea
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 20:54:40
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| Sorry, I still don't get what you're talking about. What "incidents", what "anomalies"? |
Edited by - MisterBadIdea on 04/09/2007 20:55:04 |
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Whippersnapper.
"A fourword thinking guy."
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Posted - 04/09/2007 : 22:01:36
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I can't say that this was my favourite film of 1999 dealing with the themes of stressed relationships, insecurity, self-sacrifice and mortality in modern American suburbia.
Toy Story 2 was far better. |
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redPen 
"Because I said so!"
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Posted - 04/10/2007 : 04:45:12
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Whew! When I saw this string, I was afraid I'd be surrounded by moviefolk who just marveled at the deepness and thoughtprovokeyness of it all.
This movie blew. Plain and simple. Nothing to care about, no acting done by anyone (including Kevin Spacey, who is a Hollywood hero of mine, and Annette Bening, who I adore even though she's married to megalomaniac '70s throwback fogey), and nothing to take away from the film. Yeah, I got it, it was supposed to be "The Dismantling of the Stepford Family." BFD. (I'll interpret that for anyone unfamiliar with the intials upon request.)
The only really imaginative/original character was Hat/Camera Boy, but he was written in monotone, so he was as exciting as Malkovich on Lunesta. The young hottie wasn't hot, and I don't recall a single scene that would rouse anyone from their inevitable snooze while viewing.
(Whew! Deep breath . . .) Thank you for helping me dispense the tilting-at-"classics" demons that I never felt I'd be able to exorcise. I'm feeling much better. . . . |
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Beanmimo 
"August review site"
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Posted - 04/10/2007 : 10:46:05
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quote:
Originally posted by TitanPa
Loved the movie. Dont know why your nit picking the movie. Every movie can be nit picked. Sure a movie seems weak now. It was made years agao. Much better movies have been made after. Just take the movie for what year it was made. Thats why I love 80's movies. It was such an innocent time. As the years go by movies get grittier.
Innocent?...superficial?....all except for Raging bull and that really belongs in the seventies. |
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Topic |
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Rethinking "American Beauty" (1999)
