History Film / AmericanBeauty

* PhotosLie: Early on we get a montage of family photos at the Burnham house with the three family members happily smiling. This stands in stark contrast to their current situation.

* ADeadlyAffair: After Lester learns about Carolyn's infidelity, she plans on killing him in an attempt to MurderTheHypotenuse.

* ArtisticLicenceBiology: The movie has some pretty unrealistic gore effects that contradict the basics of human anatomy and phisiology. When Ricky gets hit by his father, it looks as if though his face merely ''squirted out'' some blood and then instantly healed itself, which is obviously impossible. Furthermore, [[spoiler: when Lester gets killed, the way his blood gets splattered makes no sense – it's as if though the film crew just randomly threw some blood on the actor and on the nearby wall.]]

** There are a couple showtunes in the film, evidence of director Sam Mendes's theatre background; American Beauty was his first non-theatre directorial effort.

* BlackComedy: It's a movie about a man who lusts over a teenage girl, that we know dies at the end, his wife who's having an affair, his insecure daughter, and the boy next door who films her and dead animals because he finds them "interesting", who is also the man's drug dealer. It's hilarious in parts and downright tear-jerking in others.

* DullSurprise: Jane and Ricky's reaction to finding Lester's [[spoiler: dead body bleeding from a head shot in the kitchen.]]

* FirstLawOfTragicomedies: While not completely unserious, the movie begins with a somewhat lighthearted / sarcastic nature, but the film slowly starts to develop a more serious tone throughout, beginning with Carolyn's breakdown in the house she fails to sell.

** Played straight with Ricky and Col. Fitts. Fitts brutally beats Ricky and then goes on a tirade of all the things Ricky does wrong to justify it.

* ACupAngst: Jane is looking up breast augmentation on the internet early in the movie. Subverted in that it turns out she is actually well-endowed, but her insecurity comes from the fact that one of her breasts is a little larger than the other.

* AMFMCharacterization:
** Lester is a Music/PinkFloyd fan, as he's amazed that Ricky owns a copy of ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''. He also sings "American Woman" by Music/TheGuessWho while stoned in the car.
** Carolyn sings Music/BobbyDarin's version of "[[Theatre/FunnyGirl Don't Rain on My Parade]]" in the car. She's evidently a big Darin fan, as the soundtrack for the dinner table confrontation, which she is implied to have chosen, includes his recordings of "Call Me Irresponsible" and "Where Love Has Gone".

* HowlOfSorrow: Poor Carolyn gives off a powerful mournful wail after [[spoiler: finding Lester dead.]]

* IdealizedSex: Averted. The sex scene between Buddy and Carolyn is hilariously over-the-top. ("Fuck me, Your Majesty!") The sex scene between [[spoiler:Lester and Angela]] comes closer to the trope, yet [[spoiler:it ends up not with sex, but with Lester backing off and comforting Angela instead after learning that she's still a virgin]].
* InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn: Carolyn spouts this at one point.
* IntimateArtistry: Ricky Fitts [[CameraFiend takes his video camera with him everywhere and views the entire world through the viewfinder]]. Though extremely creepy and borderline (or ''over'' the border) [[StalkerWithACrush stalking]], he is shown growing attached to and connecting with people and experiences much more deeply than any other character. He and Jane Burnham grow closer as he films her.

* MaddenIntoMisanthropy: Lester's CharacterDevelopment arc goes through this and out the other side, [[spoiler:finally finding himself in an epiphany]] just before his life is tragically cut short.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Lester completes his character arc and finally finds peace and happiness...moments before he's murdered.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The film provided much of the inspiration for ''Series/DesperateHousewives'', with its PosthumousNarration and exploration of the darker side of suburbia.
** And it is itself arguably a SpiritualSuccessor of such famous "middle-aged adultery" comedies as ''Film/TheSevenYearItch'' and ''Film/Ten1979'', albeit much darker than them, as well as melodramas from TheFifties such as ''Film/BiggerThanLife'' (also a film about an American patriarch who feels jaded with ConspicuousConsumption and a mid-life crisis).
** In many ways, ''American Beauty'' is a spiritual successor to ''Literature/{{Babbitt}}'' by Creator/SinclairLewis. Both stories explore the shallowness and boredom of middle-class American life through the experience of a white-collar worker who seems to be living well, yet casts off his previous existence for something more rebellious but proves not to be as meaningful as he thought, and comes back enlightened and ready to make a more serious change.
** ''Film/LittleChildren'' could be considered an unofficial SpiritualSuccessor, as it shares the same theme of the dark root of suburbia, albeit with less BlackComedy, and also is scored by Thomas Newman.

* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler:"This is my first time."]]
** InUniverse is Lester yelling, "Sit down!" when Jane tries to leave the dinner table. She and Carolyn are shocked that Lester has actually raised his voice.

* IronicEcho: Both Ricky and Lester famously pontificate on how there's "so much beauty in the world", and how it makes them feel their hearts will burst: Ricky when he shows Jane his video of the plastic bag, and Lester's speech [[spoiler: after he's murdered.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: Played with. [[spoiler:Col. Fitts not only gets away with murdering Lester, but also tearing apart both his and Lester's families. He doesn't entirely win, though, since his terrible parenting has caused him to push away and lose his only son, and the film's circumstances have forced him to acknowledge and admit his repressed homosexuality, which seems to hurt him more than anything else in the world.]]

** Most Alan Ball scripts feature gay characters, this one included.

* GoryDiscretionShot: When Lester is killed.
* HaveIMentionedIAmSexuallyActiveToday: Angela.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: Lester, right after giving his wife a HeadTiltinglyKinky kiss, to boot!

* SceneryCensor: Some of Lester [[ImagineSpot fantasies about Angela]] have her nude or stripping, but her naughty bits are always covered by conveniently placed rose petals.

* TitleDrop: A non-verbal example with the "American Beauty" rose being prominently featured (see FlowerMotifs above).

* ArmoredClosetGay: [[spoiler:Col. Fitts]].

* BigBad: Col. Frank Fitts's abusive [[spoiler: and homicidal]] tendencies drive most of the plot.
* BigOlEyebrows:
** Buddy Kane. DVDCommentary claims that cast and crew were occasionally mesmerized.
** Ricky.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Mrs. Fitts. She apologizes "for the way things look around here" when Jane comes over to visit...and then we pan up to show the dining room she's sitting in, which is impeccably spotless. [[spoiler:When Frank kicks Ricky out and Ricky is about to leave to run away with Jane, he bids his mother goodbye.]] She responds with, "Wear a raincoat," which is...good advice.

* CreepyGood: Ricky films people without their knowledge, as well as dead animals (and people), and speaks in a rather quiet, low voice, with a permanent intense stare, and is a drug dealer to boot. But he's actually a good guy (notably, he stops filming as soon as Jane asks him to and clearly means no harm), and is probably more well-adjusted than most of the cast.
* DeadpanSnarker: Lester especially, but sometimes Carolyn and Jane as well.

* {{Fanservice}}: Mena Suvari naked (albeit with her breasts and crotch hidden) on a bed of rose petals. "Spectacular," indeed.

* FilleFatale: Subverted, if not full on Deconstructed, with Angela. The original script also called for Jane to stand trial for Lester's murder, which would be a more straight example.

* GoodIsBoring: Invoked with Jim and Jim. In reference to once seeing the most "bland and boring" heterosexual couple who wore the same clothes, writer Alan Ball said, "I can't wait for the time when a gay couple can be just as boring." The Jims were intentionally meant to be the happiest, and thus the least interesting, characters in the film.

* HappilyMarried: They're not actually married, but Jim and Jim are the only couple (and characters, for that matter) in the film who are truly ordinary, happy and healthy.

* TheHedonist: Lester Burnham, as he tries to find happiness in his dull life.

* InformedAttractiveness: Ricky says Jane is interesting, as opposed to Angela who is boring and "totally ordinary," though while onscreen, Angela, an aspiring model, is much more day-seizing and dynamic (or at least her stories are) than Jane, who mostly just complains about her parents or serves as an audience/conversation partner for Ricky. Anyone who likes thin, chatty, materialistic blondes over curvy, quiet, thoughtful brunettes will be rather flabbergasted by Ricky's claim. However, anyone attracted to more sensitive types don't need to be informed of Jane's attractiveness or Angela's lack of appeal. Jane clearly appreciates depth and artistry in a person with the way she finds Ricky so fascinating and asks him questions to understand him rather than blindly judging him outright based on hearsay, while Angela is a lot more shallow, focused on the material surface level of things, and judges people based on rumors she hears, making Jane more mature despite her perpetual upset over her unhealthy home life making her seem moody and immature to some people, and Angela more immature despite her constant boasting of how mature she is making her seem ahead of other girls.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Col. Fitts]] after murdering Lester, but only because the film ends before we see the aftermath and inevitable investigation/trial.
* KnightTemplar: Col. Fitts, who subjects his own son to biannual urinalysis drug screening.

* LonersAreFreaks: Ricky Fitts. Ironically, he is probably the most well-adjusted person in the movie.
** Also an Ironic MeaningfulName, as Ricky does ''not'' fit. It's not a coincidence that the movie starts when his family moves in next door.
** Ricky's backstory is that he had a fit (flying into a rage and attacking another kid) that landed him in a mental hospital, and his father has a fit when he thinks Ricky is servicing Lester.

* NightmareFetishist: Ricky's obsession with "beauty" extends to gazing with fascinated detachment at Lester's smiling corpse lying in a pool of blood.

* PowerHair: One of Carolyn Burnham's numerous ways of "projecting an image of success at all times." Notably, in flashbacks to her younger days - where Lester describes her as happy - her hair is longer.

* StepfordSmiler: On the surface, Carolyn is a successful Real Estate Agent with perfect hair, clothes, makeup, and cheery demeanor. In reality, she strips her husband and daughter of their self-esteem while being immensely unhappy with herself for failing to reach her own expectations.

* StraightGay: The two Jims. [[spoiler:Col. Fitts]], a raging homophobe who is [[spoiler:actually deeply closeted]], doesn't even realize they're gay at first.

* ThisLoserIsYou: Lester at first, a shabby, desperate, unhappy man with a midlife crisis.

* TookALevelInBadass: Lester, after quitting his job, begins working out and standing up to his wife.
* TrueLoveIsBoring: Intentionally done with Jim and Jim, a gay couple, and the film's only apparently happy and "normal" characters. In reference to once seeing the most "bland and boring" heterosexual couple who wore the same clothes, writer Alan Ball said, "I can't wait for the time when a gay couple can be just as boring."
* UnexpectedVirgin: [[spoiler:Angela]].

* ImagineSpot: You'll never hear the music piece "On Broadway" the same way again.

* ShakingHerHairLoose: When Jane strips for Ricky, she unties her hair before taking off her bra.

* NippleAndDimed: It ''is'' an R-rated movie. Subverted, however, as both instances of topless female nudity emphasize their vulnerability over their sexuality.

* RhetoricalRequestBlunder: Subverted in the opening: it's actually just a RedHerring.

* PosthumousCharacter: Lester is shot at the end of the film, providing a PosthumousNarration from the film's post-intro opening.

-> "[[VerbalBusinessCard My name is Lester Burnham]]. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year, [[ForegoneConclusion I'll be dead]]. Of course, I don't know that yet. And, in a way, I'm dead already."

* ForegoneConclusion: The opening narration reveals that Lester will die in the end. The intrigue comes from wondering how.

* OhAndXDies: Lester says in the opening that he'll be dead in less than a year.

* MistakenForGay: [[spoiler:Lester and Ricky]] by Col. Fitts. [[spoiler:When the colonel tries to kiss Lester]], he turns him down gently.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Col. Fitts spies on Ricky and Lester getting high, but their unfortunate placement and movements make it look like something sexual from Col Fitts's POV.

* InMediasRes: The opening scene is pulled from the middle of the film without context.

* IfYouCanReadThis: There's a sign in Lester's cubicle at work that simply reads "Look Closer." This was just something the set designer felt like decorating the set with. Director Sam Mendes noticed this after seeing the footage in the editing room, and the phrase "Look Closer" would eventually become the movie's {{Tagline}}.

* GaussianGirl: Angela in Lester's fantasies about her.

* AdoptTheDog: Lester holds back from [[spoiler:taking the girl of his dreams, when he finds out that she's still a virgin]].

''American Beauty'' served as a breakout moment for both its writer and director; Chris Cooper also got his launch here. The film won five [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscars]]: [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture Best Picture]], [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDirecting Best Director]] for Mendes, [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInALeadingRole Best Actor]] for Spacey (his second Oscar), [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalScreenplay Best Original Screenplay]] for Ball, and [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestCinematography Best Cinematography]] for Conrad L. Hall.

* RedHerring: Throughout the movie we are led to believe that either [[spoiler: Ricky or Carolyn]] kills Lester.

* InformedAttractiveness: Ricky says Jane is interesting, as opposed to Angela who is boring and "totally ordinary," though while onscreen, Angela, an aspiring model, is much more day-seizing and dynamic (or at least her stories are) than Jane, who mostly just complains about her parents or serves as an audience/conversation partner for Ricky. Anyone who likes thin, chatty, materialistic blondes over curvy, quiet, thoughtful brunettes will be rather flabbergasted by Ricky's claim. However, anyone attracted to more sensitive types don't need to be informed of Jane's attractiveness or Angela's lack of appeal. Jane clearly appreciates depth and artistry in a person with the way she finds Ricky so fascinating and asks him questions to understand him rather than blindly judging him outright based on hearsay, while Angela is a lot more shallow, focused on the material surface level of things, and judges people based on rumors she hears, making Jane more mature despite her perpetual upset over her unhealthy home life making her seem moody and immature to some people, and Angela more immature despite her constant boasting of how mature she is making her seem ahead of other girls.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Col. Fitts]] kills Lester, to keep [[spoiler:his homosexuality]] a secret...or out of shame for having [[spoiler:tried to kiss him]]...or because he thinks he's a pedophile who [[spoiler:rejects the advances of grown men]].

The film is additionally notable for being a dark, cynical, and dead-funny look at modern suburbia, with its tonal approach possibly encouraging the later trend of [[TrueArtIsAngsty arty/angsty]], relatively obscure dramas getting all the Best Picture nods. It's also notable for juggling a ton of characters ''successfully'', where most films top out at three or four.

''American Beauty'' is a 1999 American {{dramedy}} film that won the Best Picture [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]]. It was the breakout film for writer Creator/AlanBall (''Series/SixFeetUnder'', ''Series/TrueBlood'') and director Creator/SamMendes. Creator/ChrisCooper also got his launch here, and finally, Creator/KevinSpacey won his second Oscar here.

Notable for being a dark, cynical, and dead-funny look at modern suburbia, possibly encouraging the later trend of [[TrueArtIsAngsty arty/angsty]], relatively-obscure dramas getting all the Best Picture nods. It's also notable for juggling a ton of characters, ''successfully'', where most films top out at three or four.