What's the deal with the movie "american beauty?"

Alright, so I consider "American Beauty" a pretty good movie. You know, the movie with Thora Birch and Kevin Spacey? I know what takes place in the movie and all, but I don't really under the concept of the movie, the meaning behind it. Why is it called, "American Beauty?" Also, if anybody else saw the movie, what did you think of it?

You'll also notice the use of the rose- a symbol of romance and beauty. Often I've heard people describe a rose unfurling a thing of true beauty. Now think back to the film and the use of roses:

Carol Burnham: Grows roses, shows the world that she can craft this thing of beauty (maybe a metaphor how she thinks she has created her happiness, when in reality she's miserable.)

Lester Burnham: Whenever he fantasises about Angela, there are always roses in some way- flying out when she is pulling open her uniform, falling from the ceiling, pulling a petal from his mouth when he kisses her, surrounding her in the bath. He sees her as the ultimate in perfection, just like a rose.

Man... I think waaay too deeply about that movie. Thank you year 13 English class!

It has a lot of emotions. I don't particularly think it is okay for a married older guy to go out with the teen from next door. I think it is rather empty in content. It really is not a meaningful movie. It's more of fantasy being played out. I didn't really like it although Kevin Spacey is a great actor.

I just saw this movie a few weeks ago for the first time. I think it's a really emotional and deep thought provoking movie.

The thought of finding beauty in unexpected places and realizing what true beauty is after one has lost it is genius.

The title ""American Beauty"" is kind of an antonym... playing off the term American Dream. the American dream is to be happy and our country is obsessed with beauty. The characters in the movie are all looking for beauty and happiness and in the end they either find it, or realize they already had it all along and have now lost it because of their obsession trying to find it in the first place.

Quite a few people have done a real good job of explaining aspects of the movie and its meaning. Its one of my favourite movie's - its so full of meaning, a lot of it subtle and hidden. A man who has what society says is the American Dream, but its hollow and makes him unhappy, so he has what amounts to a Mid-Life Crisis and goes about trying to get himself that happiness. But in doing so, he ends up destroying his own life, and having profound affects on everyone around him.

It is a movie really like no other, in my opinion.

"American Beauty" is one of my favorite movies. I love almost everything Kevin Spacey does going back to his role of Mell Profit in "Wise Guy."

Anyway, American Beauty is a popular variety of rose bushes. Of course you can find parallel meanings as well.

American beauty is that young teen friend of Spacey's movie daughter.
The movie was great..at the end it shows the wife hugging on to her husbands clothes, sobbing, finally realizing what she had with him was the perfect life for her, but knowing it was to late and she can't go back (wonderful performance). The voiceover by Spacey at the end tells me he also understands who he had in his life, and how he was so appreciative of his wife and daughter.."finally." But he also realized this to late and can no longer tell them..no longer touch them, hold them, love them, etc.. The movie is really very true. How we can become so unhappy in life because we stop being thankful for the little things in life we have..how we take our loved ones for granted..how we are (in many cases) always trying to live on the other side of that fence striving to find a happier life...never finding it...and then one day the life that we have been living and the people we have taken for granted...are gone. This opens our eyes and we look at what we had... only we see it from the outside looking in. We see what a great life we had..we see the people in our life and how great they are..the issues and arguments we thought were mountain problems, that would always steal our joy, and make us fight... are dissolved by the gut wrenching feeling of knowing we can't go back. This misery reminds us why we made the choices long ago that created this life..and then how we took it all for granted, living life looking beyond our wonderful life and beyond our loved ones. American Beauty allows it's audiance to live through this nightmare without actually living it. Great movie!!
Familycoach

I dunno but I like it

American Beauty is a film that displays the reality of dysfunctional families. It shows how a lot of unhappy people become complacent and try to pretend and display a happy image. It is titled American Beauty to give importance to how truley beautiful our lives, loved ones, country, or individuality really are. Notice how the only two REALLY happy people in the story are the two gay men living next door. The moral is, dont take people for granted. Dont judge a book by its cover and dont give up on the people that really matter in your life.

how great that lester died with a smile on his lips. we should all be that lucky to understand true happiness right at the moment that we die.