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Jan 27, 2023 · Wes Bentley has freely admitted the reason he failed to capitalize on the success of "American Beauty" was a crippling drug addiction. But back in the mid-2000s, before his substance abuse issues ...
- Jon O'brien
Um, call me, you raping son of a bitch”’). Two years later, you won’t find a more self-disciplined young actor than Wes Bentley. He’s the picture of confidence as the preternaturally calm ...
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He also finds beauty in Jane, which is definitely more understandable. As they get closer, he opens up about his difficult past with his family. Apparently, his dad sent him to military school after catching him doing drugs, beat him when he got kicked out, and then put him in a mental institution when he acted out after all that.
Sep 9, 2019 · When “American Beauty” nabbed the Oscar for Best Picture in March 2000, its win seemed forward-thinking. The movie “dealt with sex and drugs, blackmail, homophobia, infidelity and suburban dysfunction,” producer Dan Jinks proclaimed during his acceptance speech. “And in the middle of all this was a character named Ricky Fitts, who at ...
- I Eventually Caught Up to ‘American Beauty’
- Where I Relate to Lester, and Where I Don’T
- I Empathize More to Carolyn Now
- Thora Birch and Wes Bentley
- The Neighbors of ‘American Beauty’
- ‘American Beauty’ Is Still Fresh, But For Different Reasons
Lester Burnham (Spacey) is 42 in American Beauty. 20 years ago that seemed like an unfathomable future. Now he’s only one year older than me. He’s already been married long enough to have a teenage daughter. I haven’t even begun a marriage so maybe I’m more than a year away from Lester’s midlife crisis. His lust for a teenage cheerleader was wrong ...
Lester leaves his magazine writing job (remember magazines?) to work in fast food like he did in high school. As I was approaching 40 I found myself nostalgic for my high school and college job working at a movie theater. What I do now, Interviewing actors and directors is way more exciting, but those were good times selling tickets and getting the...
When I first saw American Beauty, it was immediately apparent to me that the facade Carolyn (Annette Bening) was putting on wasn’t working. It wasn’t making her happy or successful, and it was alienating her husband and daughter Jane (Birch). Even at work, putting on a professional act that doesn’t work because she can’t sell enough houses and she ...
Thora Birch should have become a huge star off this. It was her brilliant transition from wonderful childhood roles in Hocus Pocus and Monkey Trouble. The look she gives when Carolyn slaps her says it all. “You have to resort to physical violence because you’re weak and you can’t control me.” Birch had Ghost World, but her father was managing her c...
Homophobia is still relevant unfortunately. Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) can’t imagine anything worse than being gay except for having a gay son. He’s terrified that Ricky is having an affair with Lester. In Frank’s case, he’s closeted which is the root of some homophobia, but not all. Some homophobes are just hateful. Ricky’s mom (Allison Janney) is...
The theme of American Beautywas that all of these characters seemed ordinary but had all this angst under the surface. I don’t think anything is under the surface anymore. Everyone shares everything publicly on social media. We know who’s having job troubles, relationship troubles, health troubles. No one bothers to put up a front. They just vent a...
Sep 24, 1999 · American Beauty. "American Beauty" is a comedy because we laugh at the absurdity of the hero's problems. And a tragedy because we can identify with his failure--not the specific details, but the general outline. The movie is about a man who fears growing older, losing the hope of true love and not being respected by those who know him best.
Box office. $356.3 million [2] American Beauty is a 1999 American black comedy-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.
