American dark comedy-drama film by Sam Mendes
American Beauty is a 1999 American black comedy and psychological drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in his feature directorial debut. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, played by Mena Suvari. Annette Bening stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, and Allison Janney co-star. Academics have described the film as satirizing how beauty and personal satisfaction are perceived by the American middle class; further analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, materialism and self-liberation.
American Beauty was released by DreamWorks Pictures in North America on September 15, 1999, and was widely released on October 1, receiving widespread critical and popular acclaim. It was the second-best-reviewed American film of the year behind Being John Malkovich and grossed over $350 million worldwide against its $15-million budget, becoming the ninth highest-grossing film of 1999. DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase American Beauty's chances of Oscar success following its controversial Best Picture snub for Saving Private Ryan (1998) the previous year.
At the 72nd Academy Awards, the film won five Oscars, including Best Picture, along with Best Director for Mendes, Best Actor for Spacey, Best Original Screenplay for Ball, and Best Cinematography for Conrad L. Hall. The film was nominated for and won many other awards and honors, mainly for directing, writing, and acting.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.