Bankruptcy And Debts

Luther at the Movies: Dan and Moid catch an <I>American Beauty</I>

Date 11/18/1999 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & Culture

Dan's Comments:

American Beauty has been garnering an incredibly good response from reviewers across the country, with whispers of a "Best Picture" victory in store for it. So does it live up to the hype? Yes it does.

American Beauty is a small, but powerful and finely-polished film about the bizarre circumstances that intertwine one man's life. For example, in the opening two minutes of the movie a narration by the main character, Lester, assures you that he will not live to see the end credits. The rest of the movie unfolds by telling you the story of how he arrives at that ultimate fate.

The cast of American Beauty is incredibly strong. Kevin Spacey can always be counted on to play a believable character and his portrayal of Lester is no exception. Annette Benning is also very believable in the role of Lester's Wife, a woman who contributes to the continuing downfall of her husband. Thora Birch (who has grown up from playing Harrison Ford's Daughter in all three Tom Clancy adapted movies) rounds out the family in the role of a neglected daughter. She does a convincing job of becoming intrigued by the boy next door, even though he is a creepy stalker. First time director, Sam Mendes, comes through for us with smart use of the camera.

The storytelling style of American Beauty is very reminiscent of a recent Matthew Broderick movie that no one has seen, called Election. Both films have a very quirky, twisted side to their humor and Election has also been mentioned as being a possible Oscar contender. I would recommend checking out Election if you have already seen American Beauty.

You are going to want to get down to the Viking Theatre as soon as possible if you want to catch American Beauty, because there is a decent chance that it might pull a Fight Club and not be here this weekend. Adam Matz called this movie "Not the best I've ever seen, but still a perfect movie." I strongly agree with this statement. American Beauty is going to give you a wild emotional ride and never let you down.

Moid's Comments:

In American Beauty, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a husband and father experiencing a mid-life crisis. At the beginning of the movie, he and his wife Carolyn (Annette Benning) are living out a normal, everyday marriage while trying to provide a good living environment for their teenage daughter, Jane (Thora Birch). Slowly things begin to go wrong.

Spacey's work here is beyond brilliant. His performance as Lester is sure to earn him an Oscar nomination, and for good reason, he perfectly portrays Lester's difficult situations. Annette Benning, is also convincing in a heartbreaking performance. While Lester loses his grip on society, the lives of Carolyn and Jane spiral out of control as well. Carolyn is unhappy with her job as a real estate agent and she finds an escape through a heated affair with a business competitor (Peter Gallagher), who calls himself "The King." Jane is convinced that she has no support from her parents and finds unlikely love in the weirdo next-door (Wes Bentley), who videotapes everything. He lives in a world where his father (Chris Cooper), an ex-marine and right-wing gay basher, makes him provide a urine sample every 6 months for drug testing.

All of the characters in American Beauty have more to reveal than initially evident. Rarely has a film struck me with it's courage to be outrageous the way this film has (one of the others being American Pie). The film is powered by astonishing performances from Spacey, Benning, Bentley and Cooper, and has the amazing ability to affect the viewer in places that they least expect. As both a insightful tragedy and a funny satire, it is an unforgettable film.

Overall great acting, some awesome camera work and great director debut by Sam Mendes. Sexually, it is pretty graphic with even Kevin Spacey taking all of his clothes off: After the movie, I happened to see Tim Peter loitering in the theatre and asked him what his thoughts on the movie were, and all he said was "interesting." If it is still playing when this gets to the press, I suggest you go indulge in this production.

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Dan Christenson and Moid Alwy
Chips Staff Writers

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