American Beauty

Movie Details:

Cast & Characters:

• Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham
• Annette Bening as Carolyn Burnham
• Thora Birch as Jane Burnham
• Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts
• Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes
• Peter Gallagher as Buddy Kane
• Allison Janney as Barbara Fitts
• Chris Cooper as Col. Frank Fitts
• Scott Bakula as Jim Olmeyer
• Sam Robards as Jim Berkley
• Amber Smith as Christy Kane
• Barry Del Sherman as Brad Dupree

Storyline:

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a gainfully employed suburban husband and father. Fed up with his boring, stagnant existence, he quits his job and decides to reinvent himself as a pot-smoking, responsibility-shirking teenager. What follows is at once cynical, hysterical, and, eventually, tragically uplifting.

About Movie:

American Beauty is an American psychological black comedy-drama directed by Sam Mendes in his feature debut, with a screenplay by Alan Ball. The film stars Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, and Chris Cooper.

Alan Ball initially conceived American Beauty as a play in the early 1990s, inspired in part by the media frenzy surrounding the Amy Fisher trial. After shelving the idea for stage, Ball revisited the concept in 1997 while transitioning into film writing, following years of work on television shows like Grace Under Fire and Cybill.

Filming took place between December 14, 1998, and February 1999, with principal photography happening on soundstages at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. Additional locations included Hancock Park, Brentwood, and Sacramento. Several scenes, including those set at a high school, were filmed at South High School in Torrance, California.

Released by DreamWorks Pictures on September 17, 1999, American Beauty became a critical and commercial success, grossing over $350 million worldwide on a $15 million budget. It was highly praised, especially for Mendes’ direction, Spacey’s performance, and Ball’s screenplay, although some critiques noted the familiarity of its suburban setting and characters.

Following an aggressive Oscar campaign, American Beauty won five Academy Awards at the 72nd Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Mendes), Best Actor (Spacey), Best Original Screenplay (Ball), and Best Cinematography (Hall). The film remains a widely celebrated work in modern cinema.

Budget & Box Office Collection: