American Beauty (1999)
... look closer
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 15 September 1999 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Director | Sam Mendes |
| Starring | Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening and Thora Birch |
| Runtime | 122 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 87% · Metacritic 84/100 · TMDB users 8.0/10 |
Where to watch American Beauty
We could not find American Beauty on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Where to watch American Beauty in 14 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Netflix $20.99 AUD |
| Austria | Paramount+ |
| Belgium | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Colombia | Clarovideo |
| France | Paramount+ |
| Germany | Paramount+ |
| Ireland | Paramount+ |
| Italy | Paramount+ |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Luxembourg | Prime Video €8.99 |
| Netherlands | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Portugal | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Switzerland | Paramount+ |
| United Kingdom | Paramount+ |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Sam Mendes directs a 122-minute drama where a suburban father decides to reinvent himself after becoming fixated on his daughter’s friend. The hook is the tagline: look closer. The surface is a manicured lawn and a beige carpet, but the camera lingers on the cracks in the paint. It is a study of what people hide behind a smile. The tone is dry and observational, letting the silence do the heavy lifting. It does not shout its message; it waits for you to notice the emptiness.
What the critics said
Critics treated it like a long-lost friend, warm but slightly awkward. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 8.2 average rating as of September 2021, though its Tomatometer climbed to 87% by November 2022. Metacritic sits at 84 as of June 2025, which is high enough to signal universal acclaim without being boring. The numbers agree, even if they disagree on the exact shade of green.
How it did with audiences
American Beauty pulled in $356 million at the box office. On TMDB, users rate it 8 out of 10. That is a high score for a film that spends so much time talking about the emptiness of suburban life. The numbers suggest people were hungry for that specific kind of hollow.
Awards
American Beauty won 10 awards and received 9 nominations. The big ones went to Bruce Cohen for Best Picture, Kevin Spacey for Best Actor, Sam Mendes for Best Director, and Alan Ball for Best Original Screenplay. It also snagged the BAFTA for Best Film. Critics were divided at year’s end, but the film won the day.
What came next for the cast
Kevin Spacey was already the guy from Se7en and The Usual Suspects when this hit. Then came Horrible Bosses and Baby Driver. Annette Bening had just been in Mars Attacks!, followed by Captain Marvel and Ruby Sparks. Thora Birch, fresh from Hocus Pocus, stepped into Ghost World and The Walking Dead. The timeline does not prove the film changed their trajectories. It just marks the point where the paths diverged.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched American Beauty.
Sources
- American Beauty on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q25139 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “American Beauty (1999 film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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