Um, could the moderate perhaps delete GatewayDrug’s post? The movie would still be definitely worth watching but the most powerful scene in it would be spoiled after reading that.
I saw American Beauty on Friday night and thought it was the best movie I’d seen since Pleasantville. I think it’s strange how some people left smiling though - I thought it was the saddest thing I’d seen in a long time. It made me feel very lonely for some reason.
I really liked American Beauty. It was a great film. I know it sounds cliche, but I can appreciate a film that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. And Kevin Spacey gave one hell of a performance. Oscar-bound, I’m sure. On a side note, Stan Kubrick could have learned something about eroticism by watching this film. It knocked the socks off of Eyes Wide Shut in that department.
As far as Blue Velvet goes, let’s just say David Lynch is too freakin’ weird for my life.
BTW, I still haven’t seen Sixth Sense. Please don’t talk any more about the surprise ending without warning me in advance. Thanks!
WARNING: ** SPOILER BELOW: ** DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN AMERICAN BEAUTY.
(I liked the fact that Lester “backed out” at the last minute. It redeemed his character a lot.)
SPOILER DEAD AHEAD!!! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN AMERICAN BEAUTY!! WARNING>>>WARNING!!!
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
DON’T DO IT!!!
AW, C"MON< YOU CAN COME BACK AND READ IT AFTER YOU"VE SEEN THE MOVIE.
One reviewer, who should not have said this, found fault with the idea that somehow it is acceptable to fuck an underage slut, but not an underage virgin. I disagree. Something that irritates the hell out of me is when people talk about the sexual choices of people between the ages of, let’s say…14 and 18, as something they have zero part in or responsibility for. Bullshit. I recall very clearly who I was and what my choices were when I was a kid, and they were, in fact, my choices. No one was exploiting poor little 'ol me. I made some really BAD choices, no question, but that doesn’t mean it was the fault of the people I was fucking.
Which is all to say, there IS a difference between fucking an underage slut and an underage virgin.
This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.
Oh my God I am totally totally totally sorry for the above spoiler w/out putting in a warning. I completely wasn’t thinking. Thanks for adding the warning and not taking off my post. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. [on knees, face planted at feet of SDMB gods, begging for forgiveness]
A man, a plan, a canal: GatewayDrug
yeah, well you SHOULD be on your knees, buster!
Hrmph.
stoid…happy to know you were just stupid, not mean.
This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.
I posted a question about this movie over in GQ, before I saw this post. Take a look, please: http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002835.html
Whew. Just got back from this movie. I was shaking with tears in my eyes when I walked out. The thing that bothers me, though, are the totally ignorant people that just don’t get it. I walked out behind two people that were laughing about how bad it was. COME ON!! Thank God for this message board, where intelligent, multi-dimensional, mature people hang out.
I guess I mostly feel sorry for people who don’t “feel” on a deeper level.
Kevin Spacey, who I adored before, is now KING in my book. You know what I mean. To quote - “Fuck me, your majesty!”
Spoiler Ahead:
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Stoid, I can appreciate what you’re saying, but I think that it is one thing for an 18 year old to be screwing around with his 16 year old girlfriend, but quite another for a 40 year old man to be doing it. The fact that she was willing is irrelevant. I realize plenty of older men date much younger women (Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta-Jones as one example), but the difference is that they are both legally, physically, and emotionally ADULTS coming together to form a relationship.
Lester was an adult and she was a teenager (what was her name?). They were at two completely different stages in their lives. He dreamt (dreamed?) about her sexually, but he never dreamt of her in any other way. Because a relationship was impossible. Not only would it have been a felony in most states, but you also had his marriage, their age difference, and the fact that she was his daughter’s best friend as major roadblocks to any sort of future relationship. Lester knew that going in. If he would have screwed her, it would have been for his sexual gratification and nothing more. Which is why screwing her would have been reprehensible. IMO. 
I saw it last night.
Wow.
Oh . . . wow.
The movie is seamless and beautiful and tragic and multi-layered and hysterically funny and . . . and . . .
I almost wish I were in an English class so I could do a paper on this movie. That’s how much I liked it.
(Small spoiler . . .
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did anyone else notice that all the remaining major characters each had motive, means, and opportunity? On the way home, all my friend and I could talk about was “what happens next?”.
“I think he said ‘Blessed are the cheesemakers.’”
I just can’t tell ya how gratified I am to see that almost everybody is getting it!
We Rule!
Stoidela: Yes, someone told me the ending to Sixth Sense. They said “You know, I knew all along that [not gonna say in case anyone hasn’t seen it]” and I was like …:::BLINK::: You DID NOT JUST SAY THAT! Argggg. I still liked the movie, but man, I wish I hadn’t known.
>^,^<
“Cluemobile? You’ve got a pickup…”
OpalCat’s site: http://opalcat.com
The Teeming Millions Homepage: fathom.org/teemingmillions
Not only that, opal, I think whoever said that to you was a liar. I know a lot of really bright people who are really good at sussing out mysteries, and I don’t know ONE who had that one figured.
I just saw AB again with a friend who, predictably, adored it, was moved and amazed and blown away.
You know one of the big things that makes this such an amazing film? The depth and richness of it…it is so multi-layered! It reaches into soooo many levels: artistic, spirtual, emotional, visual, ethical…sigh.
I was mostly amused, yet also saddened when we were gently accosted by 3 middle-aged women coming out of the theatre with us, asking :“Did you LIKE that movie???” I said yes, it was my second time, I thought it was brilliant. They shook their heads in wonder. And a tall kid walking by overheard and said :“Hey, I’m 20 years old and I feel exactly the same way you do!”. Gave me hope!
This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.
The ending of “The Sixth Sense” was not all that hard to figure; when all the reviews you read talk about a surprise ending, you have got to see something coming.
And on an unrelated tangent, there is something a little sad about the self-congratulating tone of SDMB users…
More SPOILERS
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Did anyone else have the same reaction I did to the mother in the car marvelling over her new gun and joyfully bolting out Lawrence Welk music?
In that scene I found her more terrifying than any monster in any horror movie.
Undead:
LOL
Saw the flick last night. Best movie I’ve seen in a while. Glad I didn’t read this thread previously. I did see the thread before, but when I saw it was talking about AB, I refused to read a word. I knew there would be spoilers, and I hate that.
I think the subject title should be changed to: “American Beauty Discussion (CAUTION: WILL spoil movie if you haven’t seen it yet)”
I think that would be the most appropriate subject title, considering all the spoilers hereabouts.
If you haven’t sensed it yet, I’ve got a spoiler of my own coming up so IF YOU DIDN’T SEE THE MOVIE YET, DO NOT PROCEED READING THIS MESSAGE!!!
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My take on the events which follow the end of the movie:
Mr. Neighbor gay Marine guy finds recordings of his son and girl talking about killing her father. He frames his own son for the murder. The kid had the keys to his gun cabinets and probably left fingerprints all over the place.
Although, the mother could be suspect too. She had a recently fired handgun and gunpowder residue on her hands. If the bullet fragmented, there would be no way to do ballistics to figure out if the bullet came from her gun or not. And who knows, she might have gone all batty (or should I say more batty) when she discovered her husband dead and shot herself, leaving the apparently obvious murder/suicide scenario.
Does anyone have any other thoughts, or see any holes in my line of reasoning?
(continued from previous) STILL A MOVIE SPOILER SO BE FOREWARNED!!!
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And what about the jilted daughter’s friend? The camera kid and the daughter could have suspected her of doing it since she was all obsessed with the father…Oh man, I love endings like this. Cut & dry endings are so passe.
MORE SPOILERS!!! DO NOT READ THIS MESSAGE!!!
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Got interesting news for ya re: the last. There were two things filmed which they did not put in the final cut, THANK GOD.
One: the first scene showed Kevin Spacey as an ANGEL flying over his neighborhood, if you can imagine that! Yar!
AND…
You are right, they had another 5 minutes of movie showing Ricky getting framed for the murder. Which kinda explains the videotape of her at the beginning which is reshown in the middle. I’m SOOOOOOOO glad they left tht off. It would have completely altered the movie, in a very negative way.
This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.
Well, after hearing all the great things about this movie, I finally went to the theatre in 3 months and watched it. I still can’t believe how good that story was. Definatly better than any other movie I saw in my life.
I got a question though. In some parts of the film, when a character is alone, there is is a quiet ‘thump’ sound heard every 5 seconds in the background. What was that sound suppose to represent in the film?