20 years ago, the film “American Beauty” was released. It won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2000. Today, it is routinely mocked. The Little Theatre has been highlighting films from 1999, which was considered one of the great years in cinema history. How could the critics in the Academy have been so wrong about a movie that was supposed to be the best out of all of them?
We reexamine suburban life, teenage angst, and the quest for meaning within the satirical film. In studio:
- Vanessa Cheeks, organizer of the Anomaly Film Festival
- Jack Feerick, critic at large for PopDose.com and former critic for Kirkus Reviews
- Bri Merkel, artistic director for The Little Theatre
- Scott Pukos, public relations coordinator for The Little Theatre, and organizer of the Little’s “Party Like It’s 1999” Series
