American Beauty

American Beauty (1999)

  • 88% of critics liked it
    (153 reviews)

  • 90% of users liked it
    (572,226 ratings)

Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with… More

Play Trailer

R, 2 hr.
Directed By
Sam Mendes
Written By
Alan Ball
Genres
Drama, Comedy
In Theaters
Oct 1, 1999 Wide
On DVD
Jan 2, 2002
Dream Works

Critic Reviews

  • Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

    As the latest mainstream movie symptom of our premillennial malaise, American Beauty is so brilliantly acted, written, directed and visualized that for all its despondency and despair, it is a lot of fun.

  • Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

    A great, tremendously entertaining experience. I only wish there were more films this satisfying.

  • Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

    This is definitely a knife-to-the-heart movie -- the kind whose potent effect is easy to feel yet hard to describe.

  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

    The kind of artful defiance that Hollywood is usually too timid to deliver: a jolting comedy that makes you laugh till it hurts.

  • Todd McCarthy, Variety

    An acerbic, darkly comic critique of how social conventions can lead people into false, sterile and emotionally stunted lives, American Beauty is a real American original.

Read all 24 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Samuel R


    American Beauty is close to a pure masterpiece. Superb acting from Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. Along with a unique soundtrack and fantastic story,this lovely film will show you not just an outlook on American life, but to 'look closer' at everything in life. This is… More

  • KJ P


    It is very difficult to describe my emotions throughout this film, but there was not a frame in this film where I didn't have a warm feeling in my heart. Through the darkest of times and through the happiest of times throughout this film, I felt connected to each and every… More

  • Albert K


    First off, Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening are absolutely amazing. Cinematography is literally picture perfect and the direction was spot on. "American Beauty" is a hilarious, extremely intelligent movie with one of the most unique screenplays to grace cinema in the… More

  • xGary X


    Lester Burnham is undergoing a serious midlife crisis; pining for his lost youth and obsessing over a teenage cheerleader, he's married to a joyless go-getter who encloses herself in an armour of sarcasm and self-help and has a daughter who he cannot communicate with and clearly… More

  • ♥˩ƳИИ &


    Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney, Scott Bakula, Sam Robards, Ara Celi, John Cho, Sue Casey, Amber Smith, Matthew Kimbrough Director: Sam Mendes Summary: While struggling to endure his… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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Trailers & Clips

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