At this point in cinematic history, it’s all been done before.

In order to be good, a film almost has to be extraordinary. Or it has to not be trying too hard. A film that tries and fails just grates on the nerves, and American Beauty is a perfect example of that.

American Beauty is a story of odd, creepy people that we’re supposed to accept as a spot-on depiction of “the way we are.” Thora Birch, who is drawn to pretentious projects like a moth to the flame, stars as Kevin Spacey’s pseudo-goth daughter. Spacey himself almost saves the film with his acerbic wit, but everyone around him is so annoying it’s impossible to focus. Though he is the least unsettling of the main characters, his sexual obsession with his daughter’s under-aged friend is just unpleasant.

How this film won an Academy Award is baffling. The central relationship between Birch and the creepiest of them all, Wes Bentley, is quite possibly the worst part. He plays the neighbor boy who obsessively videotapes her because he finds her beautiful.

Yeah, okay.

From heavy-handed beginning to unbelievable end, American Beauty is a failure of a film. If you disagree, I invite your opinions in comments - and you’ll probably enjoy testing your knowledge with some American Beauty movie trivia.

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