American Beauty (1999)

American Beauty rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.3/10· 1.3M votes

Rotten Tomatoes87%

Metacritic84%

TMDb8/10· 13K votes

With 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.3/10 on IMDb and 84/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About American Beauty

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

Cast of American Beauty

• 

  Kevin Spacey

  as Lester Burnham

• 

  Annette Bening

  as Carolyn Burnham

• 

  Thora Birch

  as Jane Burnham

• 

  Wes Bentley

  as Ricky Fitts

• 

  Mena Suvari

  as Angela Hayes

• 

  Peter Gallagher

  as Buddy Kane

• 

  Allison Janney

  as Barbara Fitts

• 

  Chris Cooper

  as Colonel Fitts

• 

  Scott Bakula

  as Jim Olmeyer

• 

  Sam Robards

  as Jim Berkley

• 

  Barry Del Sherman

  as Brad

• 

  Ara Celi

  as Sale House Woman #1

American Beauty facts

Budget

$15M

Box office

$356.3M

Our take on American Beauty

Sam Mendes's 1999 drama observes Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father sunk in a mid-life crisis, who resolves to overhaul his stifled existence after becoming infatuated with a friend of his teenage daughter. Working purely as drama, the film is a corrosive, darkly comic study of American suburban discontent, peeling back the polished surfaces of a household to find rot and longing underneath. It's the kind of character piece that rewards attention to mood and irony rather than plot mechanics. Best suited to viewers who like uncomfortable, adult stories about disillusionment and the gap between appearance and inner life. Expect satire with a melancholy undertow rather than easy resolution.