American Beauty

[ViolentPanda]

I think it's excellent. And I can only type with one hand at the moment.

Says it all, really!

 

[ViolentPanda]

That's a great speech, but I still think the whole film is great. Think about the title for example, to what does it refer? Is it not an allusion to the commodification of sexuality and aesthetics, as well as the degradation of the Platonic Ideal in a materialistic age? But the idea that a 40 year-old American man would be incapable of skinning up is indeed implausible.

(for disappointed Dubversion)

Perhaps the writer or screenwriter was a rose grower, or a fan of the Grateful Dead album of the same name.

Perhaps the writer wanted to lure pretentious windbags to discourse upon/fart on about the "meaning" of the title and make fools of themselves in internet forums.

Or perhaps sometimes a title is just a title, philbert.

 

[8ball]

This one

Cheers Brahaminda, will give it a go.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

not going to happen. I've retired from the 'American Beauty is an empty, cowardly piece of crap' game. Reno states it all pretty well any way.

Oh well: it might have been amusing for both of us.

 

[T & P]

not going to happen. I've retired from the 'American Beauty is an empty, cowardly piece of crap' game.

Too right. There are newer and bigger foes lurking...

 

[Leica]

I liked, but found it a bit slow. Haven't seen it since it came out and don't remember it that well, maybe I should give it another try.

I don't remember it that well either, but liked it a lot. I tend to remember images/colours more than sequences of events.

 

[Flashman]

The "cunt" bit was good.

 

[Fledgling]

As regards the title is it possibly just a simple sarcastic remark about the lack of beauty in characters searching for beauty?

The film was quite interesting. That's all I felt. It looked and felt, having seen the reviews, like a non-arthouse film made for people who don't watch arthouse or independent films but want something vaguely intellectual with a commentrary or theme they can empathise with. The whole dark side of suburbia, middle-class mid-life uncertainty has been done before though and when you accept that you wonder what possible purpose this film serves other than to offer Spacey to us as a pretty good actor? Did this film shock anyone? Really? Seriously? I'd be surprised at the people who were shocked. While I liked the dialogue and the twist with Chris Cooper being secretly homosexual I couldn't really see exactly what genius the film gave us nor what great contribution there is. Do Americans have some obsession with the potentials of dark suburbia as in reality these places are more boring than CSpan?