American Beauty (1999) 122 Minutes

In this week of the NFL Championship Games, the hardest fought battle may

end up being our beloved Sheet versus the Wind! This was undoubtably the

windiest night since we left our Original Back Yard. The sturdy Stucco never

had any trouble with the Santa Ana Winds, but the Sheet had never been tested

under these conditions. It came through with flying colors, and the constant

billowing added a surreal effect to this very theatrical film.

Jaja remains MIA, Wiener was on the road, and Netti was licking his wounds

from the beating he took for ‘Mr. Vengeance Meets Something Unwatchable

with Subtitles,’ but the rest of the Membership was on hand. The stalwart Bourbon Cookie, and Clinton Supporter Pat Towne rounded out the Crew for the evening.

WildCard Slim mentioned the wind would play well with the Pick he had brought, and when the famous “bag in the wind” sequence began, we were blown about in eerie unison. The other wind of note was allegedly coming from Nubs and Tooda as some of the Crew admonished them for talking too much throughout the film. Nubs and Tooda strongly deny these baseless accusations.

1999 is fast becoming the most well represented year of cinema in our canon. ‘American Beauty’ is now the sixth film from that year. Slim brought two others from ’99 (‘The Boondock Saints’ and ‘Holy Smoke!’), Nubs has brought two (‘Being John Malkovich’ and ‘Audition’) and Tooda broke 1999’s cherry when he rolled with ‘Fight Club’ way back when.

Kevin Spacey officially joins our Canon here, he was on the Stucco in the Guest Selection ‘The Usual Suspects.’ Peter Gallagher returns following his debut in Nubs’ ‘The Hudsucker Proxy.’ Allison Janney also goes for two after her first appearance in Nubby’s ‘Big Night.’ This marks the first appearances of Annette Benning, Scott Bakula, and Chris Cooper as well as the work of Alan Ball and Sam Mendes.

Next week, Wiener returns to roll his first Selection since ‘Meet John Doe.’

“It’s never too late to get it back.”

Written by: Alan Ball

Directed by: Sam Mendes

BBD Comments:

Still cold from watching the remarkable New England Patriots win the AFC Championships from the stands with our dear friend Ben “Frozen Toe” Wiener, so I’ll keep this brief.

‘American Beauty’ is my kind of Pick. It’s one of those films that starts to roll and you sort of groan. You say to yourself, “I know this film so well, there’s no riches left to gain from seeing it - I shoulda stayed home...” Then, all of a sudden, you realize that no film - no matter how well known - isn’t better under the stars with all of you.

It is easy to forget, for all the accolades it received, just how special a film this is. It is an achingly rich, beautiful told Suburban fable. The performances are all spectacular, and Alan Ball’s debut as a screenwriter may well top any rookie performance in the History of Cinema.

There it is, a simple hyperbolic tribute to an excellent Selection. But it’s better than nothing (I’m looking at you Wiener, Bourbon Cookie, Buffy, Pat, etc.)

Well done, Slim. You logged another Slam Dunk in my book.

Now where’s my money?

Bourbon Cookie Coments:

I remember seeing this movie in college with a girlfriend at the State theatre. That’s where they showed all the new independent films that were rocking the world. This movie changed me, at the time. The music, the simplicity, the straight forward acceptance of what life was really about opened my eyes. At 20, I could relate to all the characters and wanted to perform all the roles. It was an actor’s film. Then college ended and life rolled on.

‘American Beauty’ started being played on HBO then TNT then TBS on my favorite day to watch beloved movies in the afternoon, Saturday. I couldn’t watch it all the way through anymore. I would find my favorite parts then change the channel. I tried watching my DVD copy when I thought I was in the mood, but it never worked.

So when I heard the opening song. felt myself flying in over what could be anyone’s neighborhood in the nation, I was excited and satisfied that I knew the film, had loved it, but could still get up and use the bathroom and not miss anything. Then something strange happened. I started to remember. I remembered why Annette Benning should have won the oscar, how lonely and lovely I felt in high school and college (I was and actor, come on), how my breathe got caught in my throat while hearing about all the beauty in the world, how much I use to feel, still feel. This movie spoke to a time in my life when I was depressed but determined, happy and tortured, alone and kept. I had let it go and wouldn’t let it hold my attention for so long.

Thank you Slim for making me sit down and experience it again. I forgot. This movie is a part of my generation, and others, because it came at a time in cinema when change was needed. It’s not the greatest film of all time, but like ‘Stand By Me,’ ‘Jaws,’ and ‘E.T.’, it is apart of me and I enjoy it, I enjoyed it.

Thank you again to Slim for making me sit down and see all the beauty in my life.

Cheers.

Nubs Comments:

The winds of change came on strong this Wednesday. Fortunately for us, Wildcard Slim was prepared, bringing his cinematic plastic bag to dance on our screen. Just like Lester Burnham, Brandon took the last of his lashings from 2007 and started to throw his slim weight around.

I considered showing this movie since it has the doob, the dad, the boobs, and it is the anointed winner from our revered 1999. However I reconsidered after catching ten minutes of the ending while flipping channels, and dismissed it as depressing. I’m glad Wildcard stuck to his guns and brought this movie that is worthy of multiple viewings.

I enjoyed this viewing tremendously. The first time I saw it I was closer to the age of the kids, and now I identify with the Dad going through mid-life crisis. Yes, it’s somewhat pathetic, but I’ve had a hell of a nine years since this movie first came out. Nevertheless, this Movienight viewing made me liken this movie to another classic, ‘The Graduate.’ Like ‘The Graduate’ this movie may not be so clear-cut from it’s ending what it is saying, yet the rest of it speaks loudly for a generation. Both take a cynical yet palpable outlook on society and our unwillingness to grow-up and be a part of it. Lester is not only Mrs. Robinson; he is also that rebellious 18 year-old graduate wanting to drop out rather than line up.

‘American Beauty’ is a unique Academy Award winner because of how far it goes. Lester, before his cathartic near-statutory climax, teeters on villainous. He is overly vicious to his family, and as he takes advantage of the vulnerable, tasty, embodiment of everyman’s wet dream, it seems he’s gone too far. Obviously the movie thinks he has, and for that he has to die. I still think the murder mystery that evolves is unwarranted from the wonderfully natural story we’ve watched until the climax. A movie this close to perfect should have reshot a new ending when they decided to deviate from their alternate ending, but close to perfect enough.

I only wish Bourbon Cookie would have been more respectful and not talked so much. Anyway, its her word against mine, as I’m banking she doesn’t write a review.

Like Brett Favre tossing snowballs around in last week’s Playoff win, Slim celebrated the elements and used them to give his legacy a Slam Dunk. Don’t bother looking at what happened to Favre the next week

SELECTOR Comments:

Aside from the ‘The Wolfman,’ there is no other film that epitomizes the reinvention of life quite like ‘American Beauty.’ Most notably, Kevin Spacey’s Lester, who wakes from “20 years of being asleep” once seeing the beauty of the teenage Mena Suvari. He reconstructs his life from the ground up, dropping the traditional mores of 40-something adulthood for the life he led as a teenager before careers, husbandry and parenthood subdued him and his dreams. Annette Benning’s performance also blew me away as she changes her ways from the uptight saleswoman to the femme fatale, who not only engages in an affair but halfway decides to murder her husband because he jeopardizes her image of success. The daughter, played by Thora Birch, changes in her own right. Once caught up in the world of alienation and content playing the role of the less-attractive friend to Suvari, Thora branches out and becomes her own person, welcoming the “freak” that she really is. Even Mena Suvari changes once she realizes that she is as ordinary as everyone else, and she drops the attitude of being a model and becomes a human who bears her scars and fears to Lester. Chris Cooper and Peter Gallagher change by the film’s end, as well. The only character who doesn’t change is Ricky, the pot-dealing next-door neighbor. But he starts the film as the person he really is, and although he appears to be the freak once we meet him, we later realize that he is the only person with a clear vision of how he wants to live life.

This film is very much a precursor to the HBO series ‘Six Feet Under.’ You can see the birth of the writing, the scarred characters, the humor, the music, the storytelling. Alan Ball can do no wrong, as far as I am concerned. This film is the Genesis to his biblical career in storytelling.

And it seems the Crew enjoyed ‘American Beauty’ on that windy Wednesday night, and I am glad. As most of us stated after the viewing, we had all seen ‘American Beauty’ (except for Buffy), but most of us hadn’t seen it in its entirety in years. Most of us forgot what a magnificent tale this film weaves together. And I’m glad we all got to share it again together in the Backyard, with the wind whipping around us and the cool air biting at our noses and necks.

And I’d also like to propose a new “Law of Conscience” on MovieNights. This law need not be written down or even voiced aloud, just recognized and honored by Members. My “Law of Conscience” entails cigarettes, and the lack of having them. I, like most smokers, don’t mind sharing my pack with friends. But when this “sharing” reaches above six cigarettes for an individual person, that person should start purchasing their own pack. When you arrive at MovieNight with a full pack and leave three hours later with three cigarettes left, you know there is a clear and definite abuse of sharing.

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