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thenewgreen  ·  3713 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Fifteen Years Later, ‘American Beauty’ Is Just A Bad, Pretty Movie

Thank you for writing this so that I didn't have to. I agree with your points. I loved this film as a teenager as well but now I have a much deeper appreciation for it. While there are teenagers in the film, the themes are much more about adult relationships.

My only criticism of the film is that it can be very difficult to watch, but this is because it's so damn good at conveying how dysfunctional a relationship, a family can be due to lack of communication and empathy. The crazy thing is that while some extraordinary things happen in the film, much of it isn't that much of a stretch...

When witnessing the love between the daughter and her boyfriend, you can't help but think that the same fate awaits them that led to their parents dysfunctions. Scary stuff