American Beauty

American Beauty
(Drama/Comedy) ( 1998)
© 2000 by Raymond Weschler

Major Characters

Lester (‘Les’) Burnham…………………….Kevin Spacey
An unhappy and frustrated advertising executive whose wife no longer cares about him, and whose daughter almost hates him.

Carolyn Burnham……………………………Annette Benning
Lester’s unhappy wife, who is a struggling real estate agent.

Jane (‘Janie’) Burnham…………………..Thora Birch
Lester and Carol’s 16 year old daughter who is a typically frustrated
and insecure teenager, who strongly dislikes both of her parents.

Angela Hays……………………………………Mena Suvari
Jane’s very pretty friend who wants to be a fashion model, who
is interested in Lester even though that makes Jane very angry.

Ricky Fitts………………………………………Wes Bentley
A gentle but somewhat strange teenager who moves
in next door to the Burnhams, who likes Jane very much.

Colonel Frank Fitts………………………..Chris Cooper
Ricky’s extremely conservative father, a member of the United
States marines, who strongly dislikes drugs and homosexuals.

Barbara Fitts…………………………………..Allison Jannery
Ricky’s quiet and gentle mother, and Frank’s wife.

Buddy Kane………………………………….Peter Gallagher
The top real estate agent in the neighborhood where the
Burnhams live, who decides to have an affair with Carolyn.

Jim Olmeyer………………………………….Scott Bakula
A gay neighbor of the Burnhams who is an attorney.

Jim Berkeley…………………………………..Sam Robards
Jim Olmeyer’s partner, who is an anesthesiologist.

Brad Dupree…………………………………..Barry Del Sherman
An executive at the office where Lester works who
decides to fire him because of his bad attitude.

Plot Summary

This film is the story of the Burnhams, a typical American family that lives in an upper middle class suburb in the state of Connecticut, perhaps an hour or two outside of New York City. Lester Burnham has a pretty wife and daughter, a nice house, and a fairly good paying career, but he is still extremely unhappy. He hates his job, he knows that both his wife and daughter have no respect for him, and he feels he is growing old way too fast.
Carolyn Burnham is also unhappy, in part because she has a very hard time selling houses, and in part because her marriage is horrible and her daughter seems to hate her. Finally, Jane Burnham has her own unhappiness, both because she hates her parents, and more disturbingly, because her best friend and her father seem like they want to sleep with each other. In short, the Burnhams are the classic dysfunctional family.

The Burnhams soon face great challenges when Lester decides to quit his job, Carolyn decides to have an affair with her greatest competition in the real estate business, and Jane falls in love with Ricky, the gentle yet somewhat strange young man who moves in next door. But the greatest crisis comes when Lester decides to recapture his youth by buying cars and drugs from his teen years, and by becoming obsessed with Angela, Jane’s beautiful 16 year old friend. As Lester’s life spins out of control, Jane, Carolyn and even Ricky’s dad find their own reasons why it would be better if Lester were dead….