Spoilers (like straight after the 2nd paragraph)

Continuing the selection of DVDs my sister brought my back in 2021 of films she adores that she knew i either wanted to watch or films that she thought i should watch. High up my watch list has always been American Beauty, it was one id always wanted to watch. So tonight i have a pretty free evening, ive not got work tomorrow i am getting my Din Tattoo tomorrow (that dates this to see how quickly i can get to this) & i just thought you know what why not, lets do this.

Before we start, I know Kevin Spacey is Problematic to put it politely. Hes not such a good person anymore & hes just gone to trial. What he did was wrong & the way he has played it off hasnt been the best. However (& i know this films subject matter now makes it even more creepy) i will just be talking about his performance in this okay, not anything else. Okay peoples we clear… good lets get going…

I knew he died… someone had told me years ago that he is murdered at the end of the film. But i love the fact that the film ruins it for you at the start. That is bloody clever & you sit there like say what hes dead. & then the rest of the movie is so beautiful & well acted & clever that you almost forget it until he gets to his moment of clarity. & then you just know that its all about to be over & hes going to die. I mean i knew blood was splattering all over that wall, but i still jumped & went fuck. It was so well done. I just kept thinking nah were just going to hear it & the screen go black. But no we got it & the partial fall out & the narration out of the movie. It was very cleverly done. Mr Mendes well done.

Spacey deserves his oscar (remember talking about his as of the time not now). How he was so boring & vanilla to then not giving a crap about anything. I loved that. It was such a clever way & then realising that all he actually wanted was right in front of him. But it took a midlife crisis for him to realise that. I mean it does go to the extrema but still. What a clever way to portray it. & he does give his greatest performance in this film. Its phenomenal.

Annette Benning didnt win the oscar? What the. I like that she was the higher professional in this film for the 90s that wasnt often the case, but it was all about her job & her life & him not having a purpose & that shes the one that has an affair. I mean, i get he whole feeling powerful getting a gun thing, but i dont think she even after all that would consider killing her husband, even if he was a dick & caught her having an affair (that over the top sex did make me laugh in the motel). She was good though & i hope she got lots of praise for her portrayal back in the 90s.

Was not expecting Wes Bentley or Chris Cooper to appear in this at all & had a bit of a freak out when they did. I was like the actual hell is going on here. I like how for the majority of the film we think its going to be Wes’ character that kills him, its constantly illuded to him, but the moment it turns out hes a victim of his own circumstance & from his controlling dad, you know its not going to be him. Yes hes a bit stalkerish, but his metaphor about the paper bag, it really worked. Maybe Katy Perry was right in firework. He was so good. Although it is a huge Red Flag when you show someone your family’s prized Nazi plate, bit random & dark.

The film also doesnt treat mental health well im afraid to say. No way. Saying he got carted off wasnt actually a good thing. No way, bad choice. I mean i know its meant to make you feel a certain way about the character, but no im not down for that. I didnt like that at all.

Also the gay couple who are gay & proud are lovely, but some of the attitudes at points to them isnt very nice. Ewwww no i dont want that. Let them just be happy & gay, they are a couple just like anyone else on the street, its just they are two men.

So his fantasy were weird, but lets be honest we all thirst or fantasise over someone, be honest people we all do. If you dont you are lying to yourself. ITs just not usually your daughters teenage friend who flirts. However, he doesnt exactly groom her. Its not like she was 5 when they met & now shes of age & hes having sex with her. That would just be wrong. Could you imagine your dad doing that with your best friends from when you were kids for all their childhood & then being the person they lose their virginity too. However, she is a consenting adult & the second she says shes nervous & its her first time, they both realise what they have been doing is wrong & stop & realise they need to sort themselves out. I am very glad they dont do anything. Im glad the film didnt have that moment. It made consent & boundary’s important, even for the 90s when they werent the best. Im glad it did it.

Narration was a little bit all over the place if im honest. I wasnt keen on it at points or when he stripped in his garage, those were the only reasons why this film didnt get 5 stars from me.

It was well written & staged. I felt like i was back in the 90s by the houses, the style, what people said & wore & their jobs. It was going back in time for sure.

When he quits his job is iconic. I loved that moment. He had the guts to say what most people want to say to their bosses & yes he knew he was getting fired, but he felt under valued & just a cog in their machine & made a point to prove that too. I know this helps his spiral even further, but it was good to watch.

Should i have laughed as much as i should have done while she tried to sell that house? probably not, but it thought it was hilarious especially when the people moaned about the pool not being a lagoon. Get a grip people come on. Were you actually expecting a lagoon, because if you were, no way would you be able to swim in it.

This is such a beautiful & clever film, showing what a midlife crisis is for so many people. Okay it may not deal with metal health or LGBTQ+ properly, but it is well written & acted & i couldnt keep my eyes off the screen. It was so enjoyable & has some of the greatest 90s acting performances form a whole cast from the 90s. I know its now a little problematic as i said in the start, but i recon if id have been the age i am now when the film came out, it would be one of my favourite films ever made.