This was a strange, yet not surprising movie, as we all know people who aren't really what they seem, especially behind closed doors.  The disturbing parts in this movie add to the heaviness and darkness of this movie, but are used as a tool to dramatize and emphasize the main point in the movie, which is that we should take the time to enjoy the little things in life, to " take the time to smell the roses" as they say...

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is your typical man in society with a career and family who feels as though there is something missing in his life. When he sees his daughter Jane's(Thora Birch) friend Angela(Mena Suvari), he becomes fixated and obsessed with her.  She is a reminder of his youth, and what he feels he is missing in his life, excitement. Lester's wanderlust, sexual awakening and fixation with his youth are all symptomatic of the rut that he feels stuck in.

Carolyn (Annette Bening), the wife of Lester, only thinks of herself and how far she can make her career go.  She is completely self-absorbed and obsessed with being on the top.  Her superficiality can be representative of people in society today.

Lester and Carolyn's daughter Jane is a quiet and fierce girl filled with angst.  She is the typical teenager now-a-days, ashamed of her parents, yet longing for attention,approval and acceptance.  She does not find it in herself as she is a very insecure girl who has issues about her body.

Jane makes for an interesting subject to the new strange but fascinating next door neighbor, Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), who seems to be an outcast himself. The character of Ricky is an integral part of the movie which seems to connect to the major characters in the movie.

Ricky's ability to observe things, record them and preserve them into his camcorder is an important aspect of the movie, for he is able to see the beauty in the little things in life, whether it be good, bad or neutral.  His appreciation of life is often felt through his video footage, and we are able to see things from his point of view.  Perhaps, the fact that Ricky lives in a household where brutality is the norm, is what makes him more aware of the things in life, and gives him the perspective he has.  By this I mean, Ricky's ability to see the beauty in even the horrible things that occur in everyday life. In a way, it seems that his obsession with filming is his way of escaping the home life he must endure.

At first, Ricky's obsession with filming Jane irritates her but she gradually opens up and succumbs to his presence out of curiosity.  Perhaps, in some way, Jane can relate to Ricky, as she herself appears to be an outcast.  Also the fact that she is living in a family where things are not exactly normal could be the other connection between them.

Ricky's interaction with Lester seems to open up a world for Lester.  He wants to go back to his youth and feel the way he used to.  So, he starts lifting weights, listening to the music which he once loved in his younger days and so on...in order to feel young again.  The changes he makes seem completely inspired by Ricky.  It is as if Lester becomes  reborn and reawakened through this interaction.

Last of all, the Character of Angela says a lot about society.  She is representative of what is considered traditional beauty.  Despite this, Angela is superficial and deep down she is a very insecure person, who does not want to be considered ordinary.  She hangs around her bestfriend Jane in order to boost her selfesteem, because where as Angela is considered beautiful in the traditional sense, Jane is not. Yet, I think that she is actually jealous of Jane, because deep down she knows that Jane possesses something she does not, and that is uniqueness, and there is some sort of beauty in that.

It seems to me that each character in this movie is obsessed with something or something to do with themselves, and somehow I'm sure that this has to be an important aspect in the movie.

American beauty uses a lot of very colorful and symbolic imagery...Take the Red rose petals for instance which surround Angela in Lester's sexual day dreams.  The roses seem to stand for beauty, sexuality, vitality, life...Red seems to symbolize a lot in the movie, intensity, life, violence, sexuality, beauty, and even death.  It seems rather important to me that the door of the Burnham's house is a vibrant red, which stands apart from the rest of the house.

As I said in the beginning, this movie is about taking the time to appreciate the beauty in everything that surrounds you, to be more aware, to make the most of what you have.  And, in the end, you are left with a feeling that makes you want to really LIVE.