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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play.   AMERICAN BEAUTY tells the story of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a suburban father who snaps when he becomes disgusted with his stale, repetitive existence. Burnham lets us know in voice-over from the film's opening that this is the day he dies (using the SUNSET BOULEVARD flashback approach), a technique that adds an inevitable tension to the proceedings and keeps the story moving forward at all times. On a whim, Lester quits his job and begins a regression into young adulthood, lifting weights, smoking pot, doing nothing, and discovering the overflowing sexuality of his 16-year-old daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), has her own midlife crisis of sorts. A real estate agent, she experiences a youthful awakening when super-agent Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher) seduces her repeatedly. Meanwhile, Jane (Thora Birch), the Burnhams' daughter, is pursued by Ricky (Wes Bentley), the mysterious boy next door who carries a video camera around with him at all times. When Ricky's militaristic father, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), discovers something potentially horrifying on one of his tapes, and when Carolyn's rage for Lester's actions boils over, the time bomb finally explodes.

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a man in mid-life crisis; his estate agent wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), despises him, while teenage daughter Jane is disgusted by the obsession he develops with her attractive friend Angela (Mena Suvari). In an attempt to recapture the lost days of his youth, Lester takes a job flipping burgers, and begins working out in his garage to the strains of 'Dark Side of the Moon'. He also rediscovers the joys of recreational drugs, supplied by new neighbour Ricky Fitts - who has also started dating Jane. Brit director Sam Mendes' film won five Oscars, including Best Director, Picture, Actor and Screenplay.