American Beauty

American Beauty (1999)

  • 88% of critics liked it
    (152 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

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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.

  • James Berardinelli, ReelViews

    Mendes can stake a claim alongside the likes of Kubrick and Egoyan as one whose cinematic vision both challenges and entertains.

Read all 24 critic reviews

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

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

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Daniel P


    Glad I re-watched this. The last time was the year that it came out, and I was 17. This time around, it reminded me of Garden State - a very adolescent film. Mendes has since gotten better - of course he eventually did Revolutionary Road, it all makes sense! - but this one is a little… More

  • Sam r


    American Beauty is close to a pure masterpiece. Superb acting from Kevin Spacey and Annette Brening. Along with a unique soundtrack and fantastic story, this is one of the most original and beautiful films ever made!

  • Jan Marc M


    Rich in metaphor, messages, and philosophy, American Beauty put simply is a hundred percent subliminal beauty.

  • Idrees K


    I find it treacherous to sit and analyze what makes this a good film and attempt to reduce it to a mere list of pros and cons. So instead, I will simply admire the beauty of it, and I hope that you can too.

  • Sam B


    Haunting and perfectly cast, American Beauty is a great example of film as literature

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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