Settling for American Beauty

I have chosen. The first movie I will watch is America Beauty. This isn't alphabetical, just seems to be the mood I'm in, and though I've seen this movie before, I haven't truly observed it. I've watched for pure entertainment values and based on word of mouth reviews. Now I'm going to try to analyze it and decide if I actually love the movie or just thought I did due to other people's perceptions of it.

Previously, my friends had told me to watch this movie because of its strange view on American life and the Oscar nominations it earn, rightfully so. However, as I blog, I will try to understand what really makes the movie work and why it maintains such a positive review in American culture.

Wow I made myself sound super smart and important there, didn't I?

The introduction to Burnham family is typical. Average three person nuclear family, portraying outwardly a normal existence, but underneath they truly can't find happiness and are drowning in their mediocre cycle of life.

Kevin Spacey is spectacular. Just the way he shows his pure resistance to the repetition in his character's life is amazing. At work, he is a robot, smile glued to his face and obviously fake in his happiness to be there. However, the viewer can see the cracks begin to form when they tell him to summarize his job. Veiled threats, loud verbal outbreaks or rage. Amazing.

Annette Bening matches him completely, if not surpasses him. How many people in the world haven't repeated, out loud, a mantra while doing their job, taking a test, going on a date or any other seemingly important event during their day. I know I have. "I will sell this house today. I will sell this house today!" Her desperation to succeed in something and feel like someone is kind of depressing. Which I think is the point.

I think Thora Birch is great. I loved her in Hocus Pocus (hehe). In the beginning of the movie, I just don't understand her. Maybe that's the point. She's completely vanilla, totally disconnected.
Side note: Can I just say that I'm glad I wasn't in dance team in high school. Oh the horrors of 90's dance moves. THE ROBOT!

Anyways, I think it's kind of pathetic that Lester, Spacey, becomes infatuated with a teenager. Kind of displays to utter lack of hope his life holds. But it makes sense. I'm not stupid, regardless of age, men see an attractive woman, or girl, and their mind flashes to sex or in Lester's case, rose petals. Nice touch by the way. Roses, normal a symbol for love and devotion become a symbol for lust and obsession.

What's more pathetic than Lester's obsession is Angela, Mena Suvari (an actress who I think is WAY over-hyped as sexy. I do not agree at all), and her love of the attention. I get it. Classic over confident girl with a true core of self-loathing and fear. Blah blah blah. Most unlikable, vapid character in the film. I'm so glad people want to sleep with me, that means I can be a model. Tyra Banks would not agree Angela.

Then again. Much of this movie follows the desire to be wanted. Or the desire to have something more and break free of what we've settled for.

-Lester desires to be free of his "commercial" like life in which his wife and daughter hate him. He wants to be wanted again by a person of the opposite sex, almost settling for desperate for attention and love teenager. Eventually he breaks free and revels in his newly found happiness and freedom from mediocrity.
-Carolyn, Bening, strives for excellence and perfection in her job and life. Ironic that she finds this by having an affair with her competition, Peter Gallagher, but hey, to each her own. Though she's stayed in her boring life, she's desperate to stay strong and find the best out of her situation.
-Jane, Birch, is actually a normal teenager who just wants to escape her parents. Anyone can relate to that. Sorry Mom and Dad, I love you both, but you and I both know that I couldn't wait to escape haha. She finds this possibility in Ricky, Wes Bentley, who may seem strange and misguided, but given his home life, is relatively normal.

The entire film is about breaking free from settling. Striving for goals and happiness not based on success but based on pure bliss, no matter where it's found. Each character in this movie is struggling for that. In my opinion, this makes no character in this movie a bad person. Even the Nazi. They're all simply reacting to the environment they were forced to exist in. Nature vs. Nurture and all that.

That is why I love this movie. It's hilarious because of how outrageous it can seem at times. Video-taping a bag for happiness? wow. But it's completely tragic because each person who watches it has been there before. How many of us haven't seen the easy option and settled because it seemed the quickest way to get money or fame or whatever. How many people have been stuck in an unhappy situation simply because they were too afraid to stand up for themselves or attempt what would truly make them happy. I've been there.

Ok, I think that's all I have for this. Feel free to share your response to the movie. Or to my response :)

M